Community Action Partnership of Strafford County Prepares to Serve Up To 1,000 Thanksgiving Meal Baskets
Although it is only a week into November, Community Action Partnership of Strafford County (CAPSC) has already begun preparations for its upcoming Thanksgiving Meal Basket Program. So far, more than 950 families have already signed up for the program, which will provide a Thanksgiving dinner meal equipped to feed a family of four, for families facing financial difficulties within Strafford County.
On average, the Thanksgiving and Holiday Food Basket Program has served 750 to 850 families within Strafford County, each year. Looking to meet the increasing needs of the community; this year, CAPSC plans to serve as many as 1,000 Thanksgiving Food Baskets.
Unlike many other programs offered by CAPSC, there are no prerequisites for the Thanksgiving Basket Program. Rather, families are only required to fill out a form to request a basket. Once registered for a Thanksgiving Meal Basket, families are also eligible to receive a Holiday Meal Basket, which is distributed at the end of December.
Both baskets contain typical holiday meal food items such as canned vegetables like corn, green beans, carrots and peas, stuffing and gravy mixes, dessert mixes, cranberry sauce and more. To ensure that families in Strafford County can enjoy a filling and nutritious meal, our baskets also come with grocery store gift cards, allowing families to purchase a protein of their choice for each holiday meal.
Like in usual years, CAPSC received an initial $15,000 sponsorship from a local partner, D.F. Richard Energy, which will be used to purchase a majority of the necessary items, such as gift cards and other food items. An additional $5,000 donation from the local energy provider will be used to support both the Thanksgiving and Holiday Meal Basket Programs, bringing D.F. Richard Energy’s total contributions to $20,000.
Other large donations, such as one from Seacoast Charter School, which brought in over 1,800 pounds of food, have also helped contribute specific items to our basket program.
CAPSC employees have practiced diligence with each donation, setting aside specific donations, keeping holiday food basket items in a separate space, ready to be used for a basket when the time comes. So far, hundreds of cans have been separated and prepared for use in a basket. However, with over 1,000 families to feed, the need for more donations remains high.
To support this need, CAPSC has a donation food drive planned for the Rochester Hannaford on Milton Road, on November 15. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., CAPSC employees and volunteers will ask shoppers to donate Thanksgiving Basket specific items, such as canned or fresh vegetables, stuffing and gravy mixes, dessert mixes and more, in an attempt to collect more items for the baskets.
An additional food drive is planned on December 6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Rochester Hannaford on Milton Road, to collect food for the Holiday Food Baskets in December.
Once assembled, the Thanksgiving Baskets will be distributed at the CAPSC Main Outreach Office in Dover, at 577 Central Avenue, with the help of CAPSC employees and volunteers, on three separate occasions: from 3:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 20, from 3:30 to 7 p.m. on Friday, November 21, and from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, November 23.
More information about the Thanksgiving and Holiday Food Basket is available at Holiday Food Baskets – CAPSC.
