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both the food and the money for these programs, and the money is used to buy foodstuffs in local <br />grocery store outlets. <br />This pantry serves an average of 83 individual and family clients each week. This number <br />rises to about 10o in the fall and winter months. About eve clients are drawn weekly from <br />Lexington. Numbers of overall users are rising each year. At intake, clients fill out an application <br />form which includes ID and numbers of members in a household. Foodstuffs are then provided <br />immediately in plastic bags. Clients may draw on supplies once a month. The managers of these <br />three pantries and programs all state that clients use more than one agency source a week. <br />17. Legal Services. Two agencies provide legal services for county residents. One is the <br />South Middlesex Legal Services agency. To qualify for assistance, potential clients must meet an <br />income eligibility requirement. Incomes cannot be over 125 percent of the federal poverty line. <br />Even among those who are eligible, this agency turns away three out of every five applicants <br />because it lacks the resources to help them, even if they meet the income standard. <br />An estimated 21 clients from Lexington, about one percent of the agency total, were <br />helped between September 2004 and August 2005. They sought help mainly with issues in <br />housing, disability benefits, domestic violence, and education. The number of Lexington <br />residents seeking help has increased in recent years due to mortgage foreclosures and job layoffs <br />resulting in income losses. <br />Lexington residents also use the Senior Citizen Law Project of the Greater Boston Legal <br />Services agency (GBLS). There are no income eligibility standards but all clients must be 60 <br />years of age or older. A total of 28 Lexington residents have sought help with such issues as <br />eviction, public benefits termination, nursing home problems, and indebtedness. <br />1R <br />