Volunteers distribute 191 Thanksgiving baskets at St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry

Dozens of volunteers came together at the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry on Saturday to distribute 191 baskets, filled with all the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner, including the turkey, homemade pie and breads.

It’s a big effort every year, that takes an army of volunteers, said food pantry director Kevin Little.

On Saturday, there were a total of 55 volunteers packing baskets, loading them into cars, and directing traffic, but that’s just the culmination of a lot of generosity in the weeks leading up the event itself, said Little.

St. Vincent de Paul was slated to receive 56 turkeys from the New Hampshire Food Bank — but needed 191, so they put out the call on Facebook.

“We knew we’d have 56 from the food bank, and we were looking at about 200 baskets, so I knew we were going to be really short. So, I put on Facebook that we’re in need of stuffing, cranberry sauce and turkeys, and within two weeks, we received 125 turkeys. They were coming out of the woodwork,” Little said.

Little said they had so many turkeys the pantry’s freezers were full, and about a dozen had to be stored at Johno’s Market.

But just a turkey does not a Thanksgiving meal make.

Volunteers picked apples donated by Birchwood Orchard, and a resident with a cranberry bog on their property invited volunteers to pick as many cranberries as they wished. The apples were turned into fresh-baked pies by volunteers at the Congregational Church in New Ipswich, and the Main Street Bakery in Greenville used the cranberries to make loaves of cranberry bread, as well as making made zucchini bread to include in the baskets.

Winter vegetables came from local farms, with Joe and Sue Bulger, Sawyer Farm in Jaffrey and Washburn’s Windy Hill donating winter squashes and pumpkins. Scouting America Troop 3877 ran a Scouting for Food drive to gather donations as well.

“That’s just an example of how the community helps us. We receive so much help,” Little said.

There has been more pressure than usual on the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, which is housed in Greenville but also serves New Ipswich, Mason and Temple. Two other area food pantries, the New Covenant Bible Church pantry, and the Temple Food Pantry, closed this summer, and St. Vincent de Paul has absorbed the people who used those pantries, increasing the demand by about 40%, said Little.

Steve Rothwell, a pantry volunteer and Scouting America troop leader, was helping out on Saturday, along with the members of Troop 3877 and their families.

He said the troop was involved with the Thanksgiving basket drive long before they arrived on Saturday to pack and deliver baskets. Scouts were part of the apple and cranberry picking endeavors, as well as running a food drive. He said it’s important that his Scouts be involved with community service.

“Today is a popular day and everyone’s out here, but it’s a 52-week a year issue. We get a lot of publicity and people coming out at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the need is all year long,” he said.

Little said the community has always been generous with its support, stepping up whenever there is a need.

“We’re very blessed to live here. I was telling people, there’s no other place like this. This is the best community, there’s nowhere else I want to live. The support in this community is overwhelming. You say you’re in need of something and people come forward to help,” Little said.

The St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry is located in Greenville and is open from Tuesday from noon to 2 p.m., and Thursday 5 to 7 p.m., or by appointment. Food donations can be dropped off during pantry hours or by appointment. Checks in support of the pantry should be made out to the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.