First Christian Church of Freedom Food Pantry

This is an important, vital ministry of the church that serves residents in need on a weekly basis. Not only does it provide food to Freedom residents, it also serves Effingham and Ossipee as well. The Pantry operates under the able leadership of Doris Sirois who is assisted by her husband Paul and a host of volunteers (coordinated by Dan Spear). Along with the Freedom Village Store, and their Food Pantry Fridays, donation boxes are placed at Abbott & Staples, Boyle's Family Market, Effingham Public Library, the Freedom Market, the Freedom Post Office, Valueland Food Store and Watson's General Store. The Pantry also receives generous donations of leftover food from the many camps in the region. The church also observes Food Pantry Sundays on the first Sunday of each month. In 2013 the Pantry served 595 families with a total of 12,075 meals. In 2014, by the end of September, 393 families were served totaling 8253 meals. The demographics vary month to month between adults, children and seniors, but there seems to be a steady rise from single digits to double digits with no decrease in sight. At Thanksgiving and again at Christmas, sixty plus turkeys with all the fixings were distributed with the help of a generous contribution from Thrivent Financial.