SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Many people have been busy making their plans for a special Thanksgiving feast, including buying turkey and all the trimmings. On Thanksgiving, many families will sit down to a traditional festive meal to share with family and friends. And approximately 400 families, who need a helping hand from the community, will also have a special meal courtesy of the donors and volunteers for the Prodisee Pantry.

The Prodisee Pantry initially began as an outreach program for Spanish Fort United Methodist Church three years ago. It has now grown into a nonprofit agency with support from a lot of area churches and private donors. Sometimes the shelves get a little bare, said Prodisee Pantry director Deann Servos, but she isn’t worried.

“l truly believe God will never let our shelves get empty as long as there is truly a need,” Servos said.

When the shelves start to look empty calls come in with offers of help, she said.

Eligible families received enough holiday food to have a true feast — turkey and all the trimmings including dessert, including sweet potato pie or cake. The goal this year was to feed 400 families a Thanksgiving dinner. “I feel like we will meet that goal. We are prepared for that many,” she said.

Three hundred turkeys had already been handed out by the week before Thanksgiving.

“We have been working with agencies to make sure we did not miss families for the holiday,” Servos said. Though the Prodisee Pantry has its own database of families in need, local agencies had been coordinating with the pantry.

Participants can qualify for assistance from Prodisee Pantry due to income, medical emergency or financial crisis, she said. But it was not a free turkey handout, she said.

The nonprofit organization does ask for some proof of income, and applicants are screened when they ask for assistance. But the pantry never turns anyone away who comes to them in need of food.

“We wanted to help families but also to give them pause, so they could give thanks back,” Servos said.

Donations and food drives are what stocks the pantry, Servos said, and the organization didn’t get any grants this year.

“It comes from the kindness in people’s hearts,” she said. “As long as there is a need, we will provide the service.”

Church and civic groups also help them with food drives. The Prodisee Pantry had an arrangement with Bruno’s for purchase of the turkeys, which weighed around 12 pounds, and the Bay Area Food Bank donated 28 turkeys.

Area schoolchildren and school staff also participated in food drives. Spanish Fort Elementary’s food drive was coordinated by kindergarten teacher Karen Day. Thirty-six full boxes of food items were picked up by the Waterfront Rescue Mission.

“I know the younger kids were amazed at how much food was donated,” Day said.

The school has had this drive for about 10 years. Approximately 2,200 Thanksgiving dinners will be served by Waterfront Rescue Mission, so the agency was overwhelmed by the generosity of the school, Day said. Teachers Jacklyn Baxter and Becki Ducoe coordinated Rockwell Elementary’s food drive for Ecumenical Ministries. Baxter said the food drive only lasted four days and it netted 1,718 cans of food. The school plans on doing it again next year, she said.

The recipients are grateful, she said.

“We give them a special traditional meal like the rest of the community has and it helps them a lot,” she said. Volunteers feel like they are making a difference and hearing appreciative comments confirms what they do, Servos said.

“Sometimes people just need someone to listen and care enough to help,” Servos said. “It’s about the food, but it’s more than that — it’s about the people.”

The pantry often hears from past recipients who say that this one special act of caring has changed their lives.

Beginning the first week of December, the Prodisee Pantry will have a Christmas program. Families in need will receive special holiday food items to help families have a merry Christmas, Servos said.

“We would like to invite them to take a moment to see what Christmas means,” she said.

The Prodisee Pantry, located in the Prodisee Shopping Center on Hwy. 31, accepts donations of nonperishable food items and baby diapers on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. or by special arrangement. Or donations can be dropped by the Spanish Fort United Methodist Church offices from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about the Prodisee Pantry, call 626-1720 or leave a message at 626-1334