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years. An article about the Pantry in the Lexington Minuteman in 2005 did not result in a flood of new dollar donations, as similar articles had done in past years. The Pantry serves from 55 to 70 households each week. Many of the recipients are long- term Food Pantry users, most of them elderly. The recipients include mentally ill persons and single parents. The number of households seeking help rose in 2004 and 2005. About 75% of the recipients are residents of Lexington. Others come in from adjacent towns, many of them in order to avoid being seen by friends and neighbors. Lexington residents in turn use pantries in Waltham and Bedford for similar reasons. The Pantry is open once a week for residents of Lexington and every other week for out-of towners. Both groups are required to present a letter from a social services agency or a clergyman attesting to their need for free food, and to state the number of persons in their household. Who is served and frequencies of use are not shared or compared with other agencies in the region. The goal is to operate in a free- standing way and to provide supplementary food, not complete meals daily. 3) Lexington Housing Assistance Board (LAHB). People in need are referred to LAHB by town office staff, staff at the Department of Social Services lodged in the Senior Center, and staff of the Lexington Housing Authority. It develops and provides affordable housing in a total of 50 units in town. Tenants must be re-approved each year after their initial acceptance into the program, under federal, state, and local regulations. Tenants may stay a maximum of eve years; in theory, they will succeed in finding other housing within those years. LAHB serves both Lexington residents and other households in need. Residents are given preference during the selection process. Many of them are single mothers who are going through a divorce or coping with abandonment. When an applicant makes a phone call, LAHB mails her an application form. When it is received, it is reviewed by the director and then filed. When