BREWER (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- From as far south as Scarborough to as far north as Calais, Thanksgiving baskets will make their way to low-income families across the state again this year.
Mainers suffering from food insecurity won't have to worry about putting a special Thanksgiving meal on the table for their families, thanks to the work of the Food and Medicine nonprofit and their 16th annual Solidarity Harvest.
It was all hands on deck Saturday morning in Brewer as the baskets were being prepared.
"Dinner rolls, cranberries, three pounds of carrots," listed Solidarity Harvest volunteer, Martha Schoendorf. "They get all of this. A blue bag with this. A black bag with that. A turkey and apple cider. Everything for Thanksgiving dinner."
Schoendorf has volunteered to put together Thanksgiving baskets for Maine families for the past five years.
"You see it all go out the door and it literally just brings tears to your eyes," said Schoendorf.
She hasn't always been a volunteer, though. At one time nearly 10 years ago, she was a recipient.
"I had an accident on the job," said Schoendorf. "This program helped provide a Thanksgiving dinner for my four children and I when I was disabled."
Now, Schoendorf gives back to the people who once gave to her.
"Its been a dream of mine of quite awhile to help," added Schoendorf. "This is part of my dream come true. This program specifically was brought on to help people that were injured on the job site and to help them get back to work. I think that is one of the biggest positive aspects of this because nobody wants to be out of work. Nobody wants to be hurt. They want to get back to school or get back to work so this is a way to help them."
The Food and Medicine nonprofit will help 1,300 families in need this Thanksgiving.
All of the food, the turkey, the produce, even down to the last clove of garlic, is purchased locally in Maine.
Volunteers call the program solidarity, not charity.
"We were down and out and struggling," said Solidarity Harvest committee member, Loren Snow. "They pulled into my dooryard and I went out to see what was going on and they delivered the food basket."
Like Schoendorf, Snow also knows firsthand what it's like to receive one of these food baskets.
"I can't even begin to put in words how much this means to me to be able to do this," said Snow.
"Just an incredible amount of people to give thanks for," added Schoendorf.
Hundreds of families will be able to give thanks for the generosity of people like Schoendorf and Snow at the table for their turkey dinners this year.
Organizers said they're ahead of schedule assembling the baskets this year. They're hoping to have all of the baskets delivered by Tuesday.