For those just scraping by and working hard to make ends meet, the expense of a traditional Thanksgiving meal is often beyond their means. That’s why local individuals, churches and civic organizations pitch in every year to ensure no one goes without.

Organizations in Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough and South Portland are still accepting donations to their annual Thanksgiving food giveaways, but time is running out to lend a helping hand with many groups putting their final touches together this week or early next week.

While those operating the local food pantries and other resource services are grateful for all the help they receive at this time of year, they also pointed out that the need is year-round and giving often drops off after the holidays and in the warmer months.

Cape Elizabeth

A church-based food pantry and several donors and volunteers in Cape Elizabeth are busy preparing more than 130 Thanksgiving baskets to give to families in need in time for the Nov. 27 holiday.

Every year, Judy’s Produce Pantry, located in the Sunshine Room at the United Methodist Church on Ocean House Road, receives baskets filled with turkeys, potatoes, vegetables, pies and more as part of a town-wide effort to provide for families in need for Thanksgiving, said the pantry’s director, Nancy Miles.

The pantry is named in honor of Judy Simonds, an avid Cape Elizabeth gardener who died in spring 2010.

“We started small, and little by little we keep growing,” said Miles of the pantry. “It was originally just open in the summer and the fall when there was fresh produce. As we saw the need that these families had, it was very hard in November to say, ‘We are closing.’”

Until Thanksgiving, the pantry is open every Tuesday from 3-5 p.m. After the holiday, it is open the second and fourth Tuesday of each month from 3-5 p.m.

The pantry now serves about 35 families in Cape Elizabeth on a weekly basis. “Within reason,” she said, there is no limit to the amount of food a family can take home with them.

For the past several years, two Cape Elizabeth residents, Jen Tinsman and Amy Lombardo, have also been reaching out to individuals and families in Cape Elizabeth through email and word of mouth for donations of Thanksgiving baskets. While about 35 baskets will be donated to the pantry this year, more than 100 will be given to local families through the Opportunity Alliance in Portland.

“Any of the folks coming to the pantry who would like one, can get one,” said Miles.

According to Miles, the pantry receives produce from several farms, a couple community gardens and several residents in Cape Elizabeth.

A variety of canned foods and other non-perishable items are also available, said Miles.

Miles said Lombardo and Tinsman “do an amazing job” organizing the Thanksgiving basket project every year.

Last week, Lombardo said she and Tinsman were expecting to distribute 135 Thanksgiving baskets this year.

Each year she and Tinsman receive baskets, boxes, or bags, filled with frozen turkeys and all of the fixings for a typical Thanksgiving dinner. Some generous families pack linens, gift cards and other surprises into the baskets too, Lombardo said.

“The Opportunity Alliance has a 50-family waiting list for our baskets, over what we usually do. The word has definitely gotten out,” said Lombardo.

For the past few years, Jordan’s Farm in Cape Elizabeth has lent its delivery school bus to transport the baskets from Tinsman’s barn on Old Ocean House Road to local families. This year, Tinsman and Lombardo plan to use a U-Haul van to make deliveries.

“It’s grown each year,” said Lombardo of the effort.

According to Lombardo, families and individuals usually create Thanksgiving baskets on their own and drop them off to Tinsman’s barn the Tuesday before Thanksgiving from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. The baskets are stored in the barn for a day before getting packed into the U-Haul Wednesday morning for distribution to several local families.

Lombardo said each basket is “completely different” depending on how much families wish to donate. Some baskets are even specially prepared for families with dietary restrictions.

“Anything is appreciated,” she said. “It’s been a great tradition for my family that we look forward to doing every year.”

Tinsman has been leading the Thanksgiving basket initiative for about seven years, she said, and every year it grows.

“It’s become such a huge family tradition for a lot of people. As the need gets bigger, we get more people (to help),” said Tinsman. “We have a ton of help getting the baskets to where they need to be. It’s really a community effort.”

In addition to the baskets donated by Cape Elizabeth residents, Tinsman is expecting about another $600 in cash donations to purchase additional Thanksgiving items for families.

She said there are several families in Cape Elizabeth who donate their time and money every year to ensure that others don’t go hungry.

“Sometimes the last thing people have money for is a Thanksgiving dinner,” Tinsman said. “It’s an extra expense above and beyond what people budget for groceries.”

What makes the project unique is the fact that every basket is different since every person puts his or her own “holiday spin” on it. The only requirement for the baskets is a turkey, said Tinsman.

For both the families donating, and the families receiving baskets, “this has become their favorite family tradition,” according to Tinsman. “It just feels good to do this right in your own community.”

In addition, the Cape Elizabeth Lions Club works with local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to collect non-perishable food items for about a dozen families in need during Thanksgiving, said Miles.

Girl Scout Troop 1410, which consists of fifth-graders, is putting together at least three Thanksgiving baskets to donate to families in need this year, said troop leader Cathy Kline.

“It’s so they (understand) that it’s a good idea to contribute to other families who wouldn’t necessarily have the food to make a Thanksgiving meal,” Kline said. “They can learn everything that goes into making a meal. We try to have them do service projects throughout the year.”

Scarborough

The Scarborough Food Pantry, which operates out of the First Congregational Church on Black Point Road, is in the midst of handing out food to make Thanksgiving special for local families in need.

The Rev. Fred Gagnon said the food pantry offers turkeys and other food items, which are often provided by local merchants. The church also encourages its congregation to purchase and donate the food boxes offered at local grocery stores.

Those interested in making a donation can drop off their contributions to the food pantry from 9 a.m.-noon on Thursday, Nov. 20, or Tuesday, Nov. 25.

Gagnon said it’s important for the food pantry and the church to make an annual effort to provide a nice holiday meal for those in need because so many of the clients are “living on the edge, so to speak, and are focused on meeting their basic needs day to day. A Thanksgiving meal is a luxury that they would love to enjoy, but cannot always afford.”

He added that the food pantry at the church “not only wants to offer basic food staples for people who are in need, but also feels that helping to provide a Thanksgiving meal for them will bring a bit of happiness and gratitude into their lives.”

Gagnon also said that, “Around the holiday season the Scarborough Food Pantry experiences a spike in donations of food and cash, which is wonderful. But we serve clients twice a week, every week of the year, and we are always (in need of) contributions from the community.”

Project GRACE in Scarborough will be accepting donations to its Thanksgiving baskets for local needy families through 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 24.

Steffi Cox, the organization’s executive director, said Project GRACE would be giving out between 30 and 40 Thanksgiving baskets this year, but said the group has received more requests than it’s able to answer. Therefore, she is maintaining a wait list of about a dozen or more families and individuals.

“We remain hopeful that a few more donors will step forward in time to allow us to do more this year,” Cox said this week.

She said it’s important to help provide a good Thanksgiving meal to those who are struggling.

“The holidays are a traditional time of coming together, celebrating family and appreciating the bounty of our blessings. (And) our communities and families are made stronger when we also take time to remember our neighbors struggling to get by,” she said.

Cox added, “Many families are living paycheck to paycheck or on fixed incomes. Some have hit a temporary rough patch due to illness, injury or other serious circumstances. To give a little of the bounty that we have to those who might otherwise go without, enriches us all, adds to our shared sense of community and quality of life. It’s the Maine way to look out for our neighbors.”

In addition to a festive meal, Project GRACE also gives out staple items, like pasta, peanut butter, cereal and soup, to help families that depend on school-provided meals.

“When kids who get free or reduced school lunches are not in school, they are more likely to be going without at home,” Cox said. “With one in four Maine kids (being) hungry or food insecure, bountiful Thanksgiving baskets can really make all the difference to a family.”

Overall, she said, it’s good to remember that “the one who (is in) need, the one who has extra to share – it’s all fluid. And in the course of a lifetime, we might give, we might receive, but we are all neighbors and we are all one community.”

For the Christmas season, Cox said Project GRACE would match families with school-age children to others in the community so that each child will have “a couple of modest wishes granted – toys, games, crafts – and a need met, like boots, coats or pajamas.”

She said the group is also seeking grocery gift cards and donations to its fuel fund in order to help local families “stretch tight budgets through the colder months ahead. More than the presents under the tree, food for the table, or oil in the tank, it is the gift of showing in a meaningful way that we care.”

South Portland

This year the South Portland Food Cupboard will likely provide a Thanksgiving meal to nearly 100 people, although it has more families on a waiting list.

With turkeys being expensive, pantry director Sybil Riemensnider said monetary donations to buy that Thanksgiving main dish would be the most appreciated. However, donations of food would also be accepted through Wednesday morning, Nov. 26.

Riemensnider said what makes providing a Thanksgiving meal so tough is that those who may not use the food pantry regularly, but cannot afford to buy the fixings for a good holiday dinner, add to the normal caseload, which puts even more pressure on the pantry.

She said the pantry’s goal is to serve its regulars first and then to offer assistance to others who may call or stop by seeking help.

So far this year, Riemensnider said, the pantry has received a total of $700 from two donors, which will allow her to buy more turkeys and other Thanksgiving fixings.

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A CLOSER LOOK

Find information about Judy’s Produce Pantry at the Cape Elizabeth United Methodist Church at www.ceumc.org. The pantry director, Nancy Miles, can be reached at nmiles@maine.rr.com.

In Cape Elizabeth, to volunteer or to donate to the annual Thanksgiving basket project, contact Amy Lombardo at ajlombardo44@yahoo.com.

The South Portland Food Cupboard will accept donations to help out with Thanksgiving meals through Thursday, Nov. 20, at 11:30 a.m. The pantry is located at 130 Thadeus St. See the pantry’s Facebook page or call 874-0379 for more information. Monetary donations can also be sent to: South Portland Food Cupboard, P.O. Box 2892, South Portland, Maine, 04106.

Project GRACE in Scarborough is still accepting donations for its annual Thanksgiving baskets. The organization would like stuffing mix, instant mashed potatoes, canned vegetables, cranberry sauce, rolls and bread, fresh or canned fruit and hot chocolate and apple or cranberry juice. Project GRACE will be taking donations from 4-7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 24, at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church. Project GRACE can be reached at 883-5111 or online at www.projectgracemaine.org.

The Scarborough Food Pantry, at the First Congregational Church on Black Point Road, is still accepting items to help those in need enjoy a nice Thanksgiving dinner. Those interested in making a donation can call the church office at 883-2342 or drop off their contributions on Thursday, Nov. 20, 9 a.m. to noon.

Members of the Cape Elizabeth United Methodist Church, from left, Genny Leathers, Gail Parker, Linda Wakefield and Gloria Kiersted, hang tags on the Community Thanksgiving Tree, which stands in front of the church on Ocean House Road.Amy Lombardo, left, and Jen Tinsman deliver Thanksgiving baskets to Judy’s Produce Pantry at the Cape Elizabeth United Methodist Church last year.  

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