Every week for a little more than a year, Skip Brushaber has been delivering fresh produce to the Westbrook Food Pantry in his truck.

This week, after most of the pantry’s volunteer staff members were winding down their Tuesday morning ritual of sorting and organizing food items, he pulled up to double doors and began unloading.

“We’ve got avocados this week,” Brushaber said to the volunteers, while piling boxes on a cart used to wheel items from his truck. He buys the produce at half price from King’s Farm, off County Road in Gorham.

In the remaining days before Thanksgiving, local food pantries are gearing up for increased demand, and volunteers like Brushaber are instrumental in keeping things running smoothly and providing a constant stream of donated goods.

Most of what the pantry offers depends on what is donated. While the organization used to provide Thanksgiving turkeys and hand-packaged boxes, or baskets, during the weeks leading up to the holiday, the need has changed.

For the past few years, each household visiting the pantry, located at the Westbrook Community Center, is given a donated gift card to Hannaford, and then given some Thanksgiving extras, such as cans of vegetables, cranberry sauce and stuffing.

According to Jeanne Rielly, pantry director, the numbers were just too high to continue with the individual Thanksgiving boxes.

“The baskets got beyond us,” she said, adding that the pantry served 337 households last November. “If we tried to fit over 300 baskets on this floor, we couldn’t move.”

“We used to save up boxes for a whole year,” said Sondra Taylor, a 12-year pantry volunteer.

Also, Taylor said, many of the families utilizing the pantry either don’t eat meat on the holiday, had trouble transporting or cooking a large turkey, and can use the Hannaford gift card to buy alternative items.

The pantry had recently received a truckload of whole frozen chickens, now sitting in their new walk-in cooler.

Rielly was recently awarded a “6 Who Care” award from WCSH-6 and the United Way of Greater Portland for her years of volunteerism, which included a $1,000 donation to the food pantry.

The pantry is open again this Tuesday, Nov. 25, from noon-2 p.m., and 6-7:30 p.m.

Also in Westbrook, My Place Teen Center will host its weekly community dinner next Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 5 p.m. Donna Dwyer, the center’s executive director, said that while the organization hosts the community meal every Wednesday, next week will have a Thanksgiving theme.

Gorham

At the Gorham Food Pantry, pantry director Fran Doucette said on Tuesday it would distribute Thanksgiving food baskets to 120 households through five churches. But, Doucette said, additional baskets are no longer available through the pantry.

The First Parish Congregational Church in Gorham has been assigned to distribute 40 of the pantry’s baskets, said the Rev. David Butler, pastor of the church.

Doucette said the South Gorham Baptist Church and Little Falls Baptist Church are each packing baskets for their neighborhoods. Doucette expected the total number of baskets in Gorham to top 200.

Roxanne Moody, whose daughter owns Mister Bagel at 13 New Portland Road in Gorham, said that the restaurant would again be serving free Thanksgiving meals beginning at noon on Thursday, Nov. 27.

Moody, who organizes the dinner, said last year the restaurant served about 50 meals. She said transportation would be available, as is home delivery of meals. For reservations, transportation or home deliveries, call her at 839-4516.

Buxton

Gwen Hatch, president of the Buxton Community Cupboard, adjacent to Buxton Centre Baptist Church at the intersection of Long Plains (Route 22) and Groveville roads, had requests for 42 Thanksgiving baskets as of Tuesday.

Hatch said those eligible and senior citizens could sign up until Nov. 24, when the baskets will be available for pickup at 11:30 a.m. at the cupboard.

The baskets will include turkeys, squash, potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, carrots, onions, pickles, raisins, cake mixes, rolls, canned vegetables and pies.

Those wishing to register for a basket, donate food or money to the cupboard should call Hatch at 642-2396.

Reporter Robert Lowell also contributed to this story.

Skip Brushaber pulls bags of squash and other vegetables from the bed of his truck Tuesday morning outside the Westbrook Food Pantry. A board member and volunteer for about a year, Brushaber brings produce to the pantry once a week. On Tuesday, volunteers were readying for the pre-Thanksgiving rush.