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Groups Step Up Efforts To Feed Hungry Over Holiday, While Supporting Farmers

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, community groups around Maine are ramping up efforts to get more food onto Maine tables.

One project, Solidarity Harvest, is focusing on getting locally sourced foods to families in need this week, while still paying farmers for their work.

"It's something like 10 pounds of potatoes, five pounds - how many pounds of carrots? - three pounds of carrots, squash, turnip, onions, garlic, butter, cranberry," says Jack McKay, president of the group Food And Medicine.

The group started the effort 15 years ago to provide for families of laid-off union workers.  It has since expanded to include others in need.

The group hopes to distribute 1,300 baskets, each designed to feed 8 to 10 people.  McKay says to pull that off, the group has been gathering donations to pay farmers for produce, which will be handed out by hundreds of volunteers this week.

"It's just nice to be able to talk about that, because I think this is really what people are made of, and what we're able to do and we're just able to move some of the obstacles for people to do that which they like to do naturally which is to be kind and generous to other people and especially at this time of year."

The baskets feature 43,000 pounds of local produce from 40 farms.

The group's policy is to pay the farmers their asking price, instead of haggling or asking that the produce be donated.