The Bourne Friends Food Pantry is asking the community for help in providing residents in need with everything necessary to cook a Thanksgiving dinner.
The pantry’s coordinator, Ann Marie Riley, said that their delivery this week consisted of over 5,000 pounds of food and included 16 cases of turkey. However, that does not even come close to meeting the town’s needs.
“It’s only about 40 turkeys,” she said. “We need about 300.”
Additionally, she said that they are looking for anything that a family might need to serve alongside the main dish such as potatoes, carrots, rolls, cranberry sauce, and stuffing.
Baking mixes are also being requested so that families have the opportunity to have a freshly baked dessert after their holiday meal.
She said that she does not typically ask for items like apple cider and butter, but that anything that is donated will be used.
People who come into the pantry in advance of Thanksgiving will be able to pick their own ingredients for side dishes based on their own food preferences.
The pantry is what is known as a “choice pantry,” meaning that residents who need food assistance are able to come in and pick out the items that they will actually use. This cuts down on waste that might be caused by pre-packaging food if there is something that a family will not eat in the package.
The pantry is set up like a grocery store and stocks fresh produce, meat, and dairy in addition to canned goods.
Ms. Riley said that the only requirement in order to receive assistance through the pantry is to be a Bourne resident. Clients may be asked to prove their residency with a bill addressed to their Bourne home.
“Everybody gets fed,” she said.
While the outreach right now is for Thanksgiving dinners, they collect year-round.
“As soon as we’re done with Thanksgiving, we start with Christmas,” she said. “It’s really back to back.”
Fundraisers like “Homeless for the Holidays” help throughout the Christmas season with the Bourne fire and police departments raising money that goes to the food pantry.
As of this past June, they have served the residents of Bourne for the last 25 years. Ms. Riley said that they are a part of the “hunger network” on Cape Cod, which includes food pantries, soup kitchens, feeding groups, and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children).
The network has recently collaborated to buy several outdoor freezers that are spread across the Cape which increases the ability for pantries to stock things like meat and frozen vegetables.
The Upper Cape’s freezer is in Falmouth, which is where the Thanksgiving turkeys are being stored.
Even though they do not currently have enough turkeys to go around, Ms. Riley said that the residents of Bourne come through every year. She said that it is like a “turkey parade.”
“This town is fabulous,” she said. “Every single year, two weeks before Thanksgiving, I have 30 turkeys. Then all of a sudden we have 300.”
She said that every turkey she receives adds up.
The turkeys will be handed out by appointment this Saturday, November 18, and Monday, November 20. Appointments can be made by calling the pantry at 508-759-3351.
“If someone needs a turkey, just give us a call,” Ms. Riley said.
Anyone wishing to donate items to the Bourne Friends Food Pantry can bring them to the pantry, which is at 20 Commerce Park Road in Pocasset. They will be open on Friday, November 17, from 8 AM to 4 PM, Saturday, November 18, from 8 AM to 3 PM, and Monday, November 20, from 8 AM to 3 PM.
