If you were looking for inspiration, look no further than Jack and Vassie Fowler, who drove by the lines of needy people outside the Stone Soup Food Pantry in Biddeford and decided to help.

The Fowlers, who own Union House Pub and Pizza, raised money to buy 50 turkeys for the food pantry’s clients, to help them celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving.

That puts the couple on the list of hundreds of Mainers who chip in during the holidays, and they provide an example for the rest of us of what we could do to help.

But as valuable as contributions like the Fowlers’ are, the need will not go away when the Thanksgiving dishes have been cleared.

In this tough economy, in which people have lost jobs or are working fewer hours than they need to make ends meet, the heavy demand for services provided by food pantries and temporary shelters remains a fact of life.

Holiday generosity shows the way that regular people can help out. Consider us inspired.