HERMON, Maine — As Thanksgiving nears, food pantries around the state are working to provide meals to those in need.
In order to meet that greater need around the holidays, food pantries rely on donations from organizations, individuals and businesses to stock their shelves.
Neighbors Supporting Neighbors Community Pantry in Hermon and Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry in Ellsworth are just two of the many organizations fighting food insecurity looking to help dozens of people serve a Thanksgiving meal.
"They are our neighbors,” Max Dietshe, volunteer board member for, said.
The organization has been serving the Hancock County community for 30 years, and this Thanksgiving season is no different.
“It makes you feel great. That's why we do this," Dave Schnebeck, the pantry manager for Loave and Fishes Food Pantry, said.
This year the pantry hopes to give out more than 400 turkeys for Thanksgiving.
“This is a normalized shopping experience for our neighbors that we serve,” Dietshe said. “So they will be able to come in, get a bird, and get some sides and get all the fixings for a holiday meal.”
In order to provide those meals, the pantry relies on donations from local organizations like the Ellsworth Rotary Club which donates turkeys through its annual food drive. However, getting food on the shelves and out to the community doesn't come without the help of volunteers.
“Its a team effort. They plan for it at least start 6 weeks out and we've done it for a number of years so we have a pretty good system in place on how we're going to do it,” Schnebeck said.
Neighbors Supporting Neighbors Community Pantry in Hermon is another organization looking to provide Thanksgiving meals to families.
"You never know who could be struggling and there's a lot of reasons why people may need a lot of help right now,” Carol Lackedy, the volunteer director for the pantry, said.
This year, Lackey and a group of volunteers hope to give out more than 100 Thanksgiving boxes but need more donations and volunteers to meet that goal.
"It makes my heart the happiest just to be able to help those people in the community, people around you, your neighbor, your friend, their neighbors,” Lackedy said.
Neighbors Supporting Neighbors Community Pantry will be giving out Thanksgiving boxes on Nov. 25 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at Penobscot Snowmobile Club in Hermon.
Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry in Ellsworth will be giving out Thanksgiving dishes on Nov. 20, Nov. 22, and Nov. 25 from 9:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.