Community Harvest will host their annual Thanksgiving meal at St Martha’s Church in Kennebunk. Contributed / Community Harvest

After four years of exclusively curbside meals, Kennebunk’s Community Harvest will once again open its doors for an annual Thanksgiving dinner — all with a new chef on board.

“We’re thrilled to be able to put that on for the community,” Executive Director Kerry de Bree told the Post.

Chef Mario Barros was one of the founders of Community Harvest in 1999. For 25 years, he helped organize and serve the annual Thanksgiving dinner with the help of other local chefs and volunteers.

The purpose, de Bree said, has always been to provide not only a delicious meal, but an opportunity for community members to connect in a special way.

“We’ve grown over the years,” de Bree said. “We started as just a Thanksgiving meal.”

Now, Community Harvest serves two large community meals: one on Thanksgiving, and one on Christmas Eve.

Between the two holidays, Community Harvest will easily serve at least 1,000 people, all with the help of volunteers from the community and local restaurants.

“We’re really grateful for the restaurant community,” de Bree said.

Mario Barros helps prepare the annual Thanksgiving meal. Contributed / Community Harvest

This year, Nonantum Resort Chef Steve Sicinski will lead the charge, lending his skills and expertise to the community dinner.

Also in the kitchen, as always, will be Eva Barnfather, one of the original founders of Community Harvest.

Barnfather, who turned 102 this year, was recently honored with a dedicated picnic bench behind the Arundel Town Hall. Since the beginning, she has shown a commitment to food sharing, fellowship, and bringing people together over a meal.

“That idea of community and sharing has always been so important to her,” de Bree said. “She really is the heart of the program.”

The message that Barnfather shows daily through her legacy at Community Harvest is shared with all volunteers.

It’s not just about providing someone with a meal, de Bree said. It’s also about providing something equally as important: community.

“Providing a meal for others nourishes the body and soul,” Community Harvest volunteer AnneMarie Gramling said.

This year’s Community Harvest Thanksgiving meal will be held at St Martha’s Church in Kennebunk from 12:30 until 2 p.m. Delivery meals are also available.

Eva Barnfather, 102, receives a dedication for her service at Community Harvest. Contributed / Community Harvest

De Bree said she and the other volunteers are looking forward to the positive energy of an in-person dinner.

“There is always a real joy in the hall and a festive environment,” de Bree said. “It’s absolutely fantastic.”