More than 300 Portsmouth-area families will enjoy a Thanksgiving Day dinner with all the fixings thanks to a hearty band of volunteers who braved the cold Monday at the Municipal Complex.
From 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., a steady stream of cars drove up Junkins Avenue to receive turkeys and bags of food from Seacoast Family Food Pantry of New Hampshire volunteers.
Diane Giese, executive director of the Seacoast Family Food Pantry, said 325 families signed up to receive the food donations, which is more than they saw a year ago.
"We started at 8 this morning to put together food bags," Giese said. "So many people are having stressful lives with so much at the same time."
"We let them know that there is somebody thinking about them this time of year."
Families from Seabrook to Kittery, Maine are served by the group and about 75 percent of the people who will come here today are from Portsmouth, Giese explained.
Crew members from USS Miami at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard are helping with the distribution. Some of the biggest sponsors of the distribution event are Hannaford Supermarket, Shaw's Supermarket and Liberty Mutual.
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