A mission to feed the hungry
On any given weekend, you might find Don Bisson leading the congregation in song at one of the churches of Good Shepherd Parish in Biddeford. But during the week, there is little doubt where he will be: at the Biddeford Food Pantry, where he has served for nearly 20 years. He believes he is doing God’s work.
“Would Jesus deny you or me if we went to Him and said that we were hungry? Can we have some food? No,” he says. “Miracles abound when you do His work. That is why I am here.”
Bisson says he was drawn to the pantry after retiring from a job at the World Trade Center in New York City in 1998 and returning to his hometown. Looking for something meaningful to do, he noticed the food pantry, which had been started by the late Rita Riley in 1981, and asked if he could volunteer.
“So, I started working, and I said to the woman, ‘Do you mind if I offer some suggestions on how we could do things better?’ She said, ‘Sure. Go ahead.’ Then, the rest is history.”
Although he eventually became the director, he says he nearly left in those early years when the pantry lost its tax-exempt status due to not filing the proper documentation. Instead, he was convinced to stay by a young couple’s visit.
“She said, ‘My husband lost his job. See, out the window, those are our two kids.’ In the car, with the door open, were two cute little kids, and I said, ‘Come back anytime. We’ll be happy to help you.’ They had never been here before or came back since, but it was like God saying to me, ‘No, you’re going to stay here and do my work.’ So, I spent a year working with the IRS to get the tax-exempt status back,” he says.
Bisson’s commitment was such that when the pantry faced the dilemma of paying a significant rent increase or buying the building, he committed himself to raising money to do the latter. He remembers his frustration, and the lesson he ended up learning, when at first, he was only able to come up with a fifth of the needed down payment.
“I walked out, and I was yelling at God, saying, ‘God, if you want the pantry to close, we’ll close. If you don’t want me to do your work, I won’t do it. Don’t worry.’ I went back to my chair, and five minutes later, a man knocked on my door and said, ‘What are you so upset about?’ I said, ‘I’ll tell you what I’m so upset about. I need $40,000.’ He said, ‘I’ll have the check by tomorrow morning.’”
Bisson says the generosity of the man, with whom he was acquainted, made him realize that he should never have doubted.
“When he came in the door, he said, ‘What are you so upset about?’ but what I heard was Jesus saying, ‘Why did you lose faith in me?’”
It’s a mistake Bisson vowed not to make again.
“Jesus is there in the midst,” he says. “I could do nothing without Him. Honest to goodness, I could do nothing. I have done nothing without Him. It was all with Him, with His help, with His love that I was able to continue doing this.”
Bisson says his deep faith comes from his Catholic upbringing. His mother regularly prayed the Rosary, which he now also prays every day. He also prays for the intercession of St. Bridget of Sweden, and he attends daily Mass.
“That really plants me firmly in my Catholic faith, which I love,” he says. “It’s a really wonderful parish. I am very happy to be part of it.”
The Biddeford Food Pantry serves members of the public Tuesday-Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Anyone in need of food is welcome to come once a week.
Bisson says the need is great and has increased in recent years. In 2022, there were 6,981 client visits to the pantry, but in 2023, that nearly doubled to 12,246, and numbers are significantly up again this year. Bisson attributes the increase to the high cost of food, making it tougher for people to afford it, to the increase in the homeless population, and to an increase in the number of asylum seekers.
“It has multiplied a lot because of the influx of asylum seekers,” says Bisson.
“It's sad because the pantry is really a history of all the wars that have taken place in the last 20-30 years. You have people from Iraq, people from Afghanistan, all the wars that are happening in Africa, in places like Sudan, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” says Robert Ruszenas of Kennebunk, a volunteer who keeps the pantry’s records.
Volodymyr Rybachenko is among those using the pantry’s services. Seeking to keep his family safe, he says he left his home country of Ukraine following the Russian invasion, first traveling to Canada and now seeking asylum in the United States. Under federal law, asylum seekers cannot get a job until 180 days after filing applications for asylum, leaving him with no way to support his family.
“We have two kids, and we have to provide for them,” he says. “Once a week, this almost provides enough food for four of us. This one is very good.”
Ali Brown of Biddeford says things have been a little tough lately, so she went to the pantry for help.
“I think it’s important because everyone needs to eat and doesn’t always have the means to do it or to get any food,” she says.
“It helps people in the community to come and get the food they need,” says Richard, a client from Biddeford. “It’s a great benefit to the community.”
The clients say they appreciate the volunteers who keep the pantry running.
“They’re doing amazing work because they are helping the community and doing something not everyone would want to do,” says Brown.
Ruszenas, who owns three Domino’s pizza shops with his wife, says he volunteers because he knows the need exists.
“I would deliver pizza in Biddeford, like in 2016-2109, and just seeing the state of homes, because you are going into people’s homes delivering pizza, I realized the need in this town and how big it is,” he says. “In 2020, I was talking to my wife, and I said, ‘How about instead of helping the business, I volunteer at the food pantry?’”
So that is what Ruszenas does, along with taking care of their two young children.
Nidhal Hamza, originally from Iraq, has served at the pantry nearly as long as Bisson.
“People outside, when you can look at their faces, and they are happy, I feel happy, too. I feel so sad for the homeless people. That is why I’m working here. I want to help people,” she says.
“It’s giving back, helping others. I haven't always been perfect in my life, so it makes me feel a little bit better about myself,” said David Conley, another volunteer.
In addition to its volunteers, Bisson says he is thankful to the businesses that support the pantry. The pantry buys food at a discounted rate from the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn but also receives donations from Hannaford, Walmart, Target, and other stores.
Despite those contributions, Bisson says the pantry needs help to meet the increased demand and costs. If you can help, donations can be made online at biddefordfoodpantry.org or by sending a check to: Biddeford Food Pantry, 162 Elm Street, Biddeford, ME 04005. If you would like to volunteer, call Bisson at 207.282.4771.
