Food or diapers.

The Kidz Closet's James Locke and Lisa Smith have heard of some families having to make the choice between the two, and hope that with a little charity, they can turn what is unfortunately an “or” situation into an “and” one.

The Kidz Closet, which is located at 127 Elm Street in Damariscotta, will be hosting a diaper drive for the month of January in the hopes of continuing to help out families in need into the New Year.

Locke said the program is a lot like Ann McIntyre's Cuddle Me Program diaper bank program, in that diapers are donated, then families who need the extra help can ask for assistance.

“We're kind of partnered with the Cuddle Me Diaper Program — they do the same thing, basically,” Locke said. “We know families in the area are having to choose between diapers or food. And we don't like to see that.”

After all, not only do they own and operate the Kidz Closet, but they have five children of their own, including a pair of twin toddlers.

“It's a fun job — we basically run the store as a nonprofit,” he said. “We don't make money; the only thing we ask is that we pay our bills, and if we have any left over money purchase new merchandize.”

Locke said that should any money make its way to the Kidz Closet during the diaper drive, it will make its way to a bank account to keep helping families.

Although the diaper drive is new, helping families isn't, Locke said.

“If someone comes in and needs something other than diapers, we can help them there, too,” he said, adding that the idea for diaper drive came from a woman who had previously been helped by the Kidz Closet. “We had a family come in that we helped out a long time ago, and she brought a bunch of formula in she wasn't able to use. So it turned into a formula drive, and a diaper drive, and a baby bottle drive, you name it. If a baby can use it, we'll take it, and donate it to whoever needs it.”

Locke said the drive will also be a challenge to the community.

“I want to see how willing the community is to help out each other,” he said. “I know there's a lot of people willing to help, and I've had three or four donations come in already.”

Locke said donations can be dropped off during business hours (9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays) and that there will be a place for donations to be dropped off during the off hours.

“If I get a couple thousand diapers, I get a couple thousand diapers and it's going to diaper a couple babies for quite a while,” he said.

Locke said that originally the Kidz Closet was going to require a note from a doctor, or the Department of Health and Human Services or a priest, but eventually decided against it.

“I came to the conclusion that if someone's going to come in and ask for help, then they need the help,” he said. “If we've got the diapers, we'll do it. If not, we'll find a way to get them some diapers.”

Locke said the Kidz Closet fills a need in the community where families and children are concerned: the Damariscotta Police Department Chief has his card, and if and when a situation presents itself, such as a fire or other emergency, the store's ready to help out in any way it can.

“If I get the call, I'll come down and open the store up no matter what time it is,” he said. “Basically, we try to pay it forward and help out as many people as we can.”

For more information, call the Kidz Closet at 207-563-8697 or visit www.facebook.com/TheKidzCloset