PORTLAND, Maine – The Preble Street Resource Center here held an emergency food pantry Tuesday for asylum seekers who mistakenly did not receive General Assistance in the beginning of September.

Gov. Paul LePage had intended to veto a bill last spring that required the state to reimburse cities that provide assistance to asylum seekers. After he missed the deadline to veto, the law went into effect.
But Donna Yellen of Preble Street says the changing nature of the law has caused confusion.

“So there was a misunderstanding and some of the food benefits through General Assistance were not administered in the beginning days of September,” she says.

Yellen says the mistake has since been corrected, but the food pantry was necessary to provide extra support. About 100 people came to Preble Street to receive boxes of watermelon, avocados, corn, beans and canned goods.