BREWER, Maine — More than 1,600 tables across Maine will have a Thanksgiving feast this year thanks to Food AND Medicine's (FAM) annual Solidarity Harvest.
Each of the boxes contains 30 pounds of food including locally sourced produce, apple cider, stuffing, and a turkey.
The baskets, capable of feeding up to 10 people, are just one part of solving a greater problem, according to Jack McKay, the executive director of FAM.
"It's significant for the 1,675 families who are gonna have a Thanksgiving meal when many of them would not," McKay said. "But there's a lot of other solutions. There's a lot of other people doing good work, kind work, generous work."
McKay estimates that 400 volunteers and Food AND Medicine staff work together to make the yearly event happen.
He said FAM coordinates with Maine farmers year-round to source almost all the food in-state. FAM also pays market price for the food, which Everett Ottinger, owner of Nettie Fox Farm, says is helpful.
"It's a great thing to rely on. It's a nice little boost right before Thanksgiving," Ottinger said.
FAM origins are rooted in the community response to help neighbors who lost their jobs as mills closed in the early 2000s. Giving a lending hand is still the purpose of Solidarity Harvest’s Jackson Peck, a community organizer at FAM.
"We're able to help so many people that have a genuine need, but at the same time, we're also able to provide a unique opportunity to those same people to give to the others in need," Peck said.
One of those giving a hand is Troy Hood. This will be the second year his family receives a Thanksgiving basket from FAM.
"Right now, with the prices of food and everything, it's kind of hard to get like what we need to put food on the table," Hood said. "So, we've been basically relying on the local food pantries and stuff like that."
And with a smile on his face, he is amongst the dozen or so volunteers lifting, packing, and weighing produce.
"Because I want to give back to the community that has helped me so much," Hood said.
McKay estimates that FAM is still $10,000 short of its goal and is always accepting volunteers. Details for how to help can be found at foodandmedicine.org.