PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Bert Winslow of “Big Bert’s Fries” pitched a tent outside of the RE/MAX office on Blake Street Saturday morning with three deep fryers underneath and a goal in mind: give out his homemade french fries in exchange for donations to feed the hungry.
His two sons helped pass out small baskets of fries to people at no cost. Instead, they asked for donations to Catholic Charities’ “Feed the County” program.
Started in April 2003, “Feed the County” is a program established by Catholic Charities that brings awareness of food insecurity in the area, according to Dixie Shaw, director of Hunger and Relief Services at Catholic Charities.
“Feed the County” is also an “awareness campaign and fundraising effort” to gather donations to buy food for the 24 pantries spread across The County. “It takes a lot of money to give away free food,” said Shaw.
According to Shaw, the Catholic Charities’ food bank is “the only food bank north of Hampden.”
Shaw said that people often confuse a food bank and a food pantry; the food bank provides food to the pantry which then distributes it to the community.
RE/MAX hosted the event outside its office and called Winslow of “Big Bert’s Fries” to come help with the fundraising effort. Jane Towle, owner of RE/MAX County, said the company pledged to donate matching funds to Catholic Charities for whatever amount they were able to raise on Saturday.
Winslow and his team gave away some 250 baskets of fries made with potatoes donated by Flewelling’s Farm in Easton, said Shaw.
Within a few hours, “Feed the County” raised almost $1,000, according to Towle. “We had a hard time guessing what could possibly come of this … This community is so generous.”
Honoring their promise, RE/MAX donated $1,000 in matching funds to Catholic Charities, putting their total amount raised to $2,000 for the afternoon.
One donor in particular stood out to Towle. She said he gave her a $20 bill but didn’t want any french fries; he simply wanted to “pay it forward.” Towle said the man told her that he and his wife relied on the Catholic Charities food bank for years while his wife was in nursing school.
“We’re taking care of our own, right here,” Towle said.
