Paper Klip collecting for Skowhegan Food Cupboard

  SKOWHEGAN - The Paper Klip on Water Street in Skowhegan will collect food and cash contributions for the Skowhegan Food Cupboard during the month of August.  The Greater Somerset Public Health Collaborative and United Way of Mid-Maine are offering the program which connects local businesses and area food cupboards in an effort to provide nutritional support to those who live in our area.  Main Street Skowhegan, Skowhegan Rotary, Madison Business Alliance and Norridgewock Chamber of Commerce have endorsed the project.

  “Our area food cupboards work extremely hard to keep up with increasing demand,” said Bill Primmerman, Director of the Greater Somerset Public Health Collaborative.  “Local residents are very generous in terms of contributing to our food cupboards and this is a way they can combine doing business in town with their donation.  Many residents really depend on visits to the food cupboards to get through the month with enough to eat.”

  Darlene Paine and Dave Snell are familiar faces behind the counter at The Paper Klip, which has been providing business services and products in downtown Skowhegan for more than 30 years. It is now owned by Warren Roberts of Warren’s Office Supplies.  Snell has been a staff person for 23 years and Paine has been there for 16 years.  They feel confident that their many repeat customers as well as venders will fill the food donation shelves.

  Paine and Snell are eager to make this particular kind of contribution to the community.  “Communities should come together and provide support for each other,” Snell said.  “The Paper Klip buys locally as much as possible and we provide a range of business products and services so that local entrepreneurs and individuals can spend their dollars locally.  If you buy locally, you strengthen your community.  It makes sense to extend this local benefit to people in need through the food drive.”

  The Greater Somerset Public Health Collaborative provides shelves in the store for the collected food.  The Paper Klip’s customers and community members can drop off cans and packaged foods and make cash contributions at the store during store hours which are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.