SANFORD — Some of the men and women who attend Waban’s Life Works programs have been studying culinary arts, devising menus, buying ingredients and preparing meals, which they then enjoy at lunch.

So when the opportunity arose for the Life Works group to stop by a local pot pie manufacturer to try their hand at making the savory pies, it seemed like a natural fit.

On Tuesday, about half a dozen men and women in the program donned white chef’s coats, hats and gloves, and learned the art of making the pies at Heidi’s Heavenly Pot Pies on Emery Street. After the session, the pies made by the group were to be frozen and later available for them to take home to their families.

Inside the shop, the air was filled with the heady scent of homemade gravy, which was used on the chicken or chicken-and-vegetable pot pies the men and women made.

Life Works culinary groups have been focusing on food from several countries. Life Works Director Melissa Hall, on hand for Tuesday’s pie-making session, said the group has been studying foods from Spain. On Tuesday, the focus was on pot pie ”“ American comfort food ”“ a tasty option for winter days when the snow is falling and hungry diners are looking for a hot meal.

Heidi Maurais, along with her husband Vic, opened the pie-making facility in October 2009. Pies are made here and frozen, and then delivered to several outlets, including 12 Hannaford locations, and a number of specialty shops and markets in southern Maine and New Hampshire.

Vic Maurais manned the production facility for Tuesday’s pie-making session, assisting the new chefs in the finer points ”“ like the importance of precisely measuring the ingredients for each pie.

Students added chicken, mixed vegetables and diced potatoes to the pie pans, which were later finished with gravy and a homemade pastry crust. The pastry, Maurais said, is made in Sanford by Ocean Mist Bakery.

The culinary group is one of several offerings at Life Works, a program that provides communications and employment skills through a variety of activities for adults with disabilities.

“We help people connect with the community,” said Hall.

Altogether, there are about 80 people involved with Life Works programs and another 24 who have found employment through Life Works, she said.

One of the folks who has already connected is Lynn MacKeen, who holds down a job at Heidi’s Heavenly Pot Pies on Tuesdays, making and counting pie boxes, affixing bar codes and helping prep orders.

MacKeen was among those preparing to try her hand at making pies ”“ but she was most enthusiastic about her job.

The best part?

“Making boxes and getting paid,” she said with a broad smile. And when that’s all done, she said, “I clean like there’s no tomorrow.”

Kristine Fish and Roger LeMay were among those making pot pies, and afterward got to sample some that had been made and baked earlier.

“Very tasty,” said Fish.

LeMay was in agreement.

“I liked it,” he said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].