Thanksgiving week is here, and with it, distribution of food baskets to people who could use some help putting a holiday meal on the table.
At the Falmouth Service Center, which operates one of the largest food pantries on Cape Cod, staff and volunteers expect to give out the last of their holiday food baskets today.
The center had 950 requests for baskets this year, about 100 more than last year, Executive Director Kerin Delaney said. That includes 300 baskets for the military families of Joint Base Cape Cod.
Delaney said the need is significant, but so is the outpouring of support from the community.
“On turkey dropoff day, it is hardly a year that's gone by when I'm not crying at some point,” she said. “Because — the generosity from this community — people buying more than one turkey, people saying, ‘Oh, I got my neighbors and we did a collection, and here's a bunch of turkeys.’ It's just amazing.”
Most turkeys are donated on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, in a coordinated effort.
If they don’t get enough turkeys, the staff go shopping the next morning using donated funds.
Baskets from the center include a turkey, a pan to cook it in, a big bag of fresh vegetables, stuffing, gravy, a home-cooked pumpkin bread, butter, and an apple pie.
Volunteers make the pumpkin breads in the center’s own commercial kitchen. They start in the beginning of October, baking about 100 breads a week and freezing them.
“It's our busiest time, but it's also our most energized time,” Delaney said. “People really want to help. There's such an amazing response from the community.”
The Falmouth Service Center provides turkey baskets to clients from anywhere in Barnstable County.
After Thanksgiving, the center begins its children’s holiday program, helping more than 540 Falmouth and Mashpee children for the holidays.
