Thank you to everyone who came out on Saturday, March 12th in the rain in Ellsworth for our 20th Annual Ton of Pasta Food Drive! Because of your generosity we were able to collect the equivalent of 2021 pounds of pasta, when we counted the pasta and cash donations!

Empty Shelves after the Ton of Pasta Food Drive in Ellsworth March 12, 2022
Empty Shelves after the Ton of Pasta Food Drive in Ellsworth March 12, 2022 Photo Chris Popper
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That's pretty incredible! That's over 1 ton in Downeast Maine, with everything staying locally! All the pasta and cash will be shared with the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, the Bar Harbor Food Pantry, the Emmaus Shelter and Community Closet in Ellsworth.

This year was especially gratifying being able to spend a little time chatting with everyone and seeing people's smiles with the easing of the pandemic restrictions. It is always special to see little children put their box or boxes of pasta on the table! To have people thank us for doing this is crazy, it is our honor to be a conduit for your generosity and for WDEA to play a small part in feeding Downeast Maine!

Again we had people who made donations who told us that they were recipients of pasta in the past, and wanted to pay it forward. That really makes you pause and say a little prayer of thanks.

Thanks to DJ Fred who came out of retirement to join me at the Pasta Drive!

I am always amazed when we do the pasta drive. 20 years ago we thought "Wouldn't it be great if we could collect 1 ton of pasta with our 4 stations combined". Well, we collected 1 ton this year, just down in Ellsworth, and when we add the Bangor, Brewer and Old Town locations we were up around 4 ton! That's a lot of people who will be fed, when you consider a pound of pasta can feed a family of 4. Mainers are so incredibly generous. They take cake of Mainers, and those they love in time of need. Unfortunately, this year, the need is so great, with the rising heating oil, food and gas prices and let's not even talk about everyone's electrical bills! Unfortunately food insecurity is real in Downeast Maine, but for 1 weekend, we put a dent into it, thanks to you!

There will be many opportunities to donate food and cash in April as the Hancock County Food Drive kicks off. We will have info on that as we get closer to the new month!

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