Studio 53, the art gallery located at 53 Townsend Avenue in Boothbay Harbor, will hold its annual holiday sale, “Gifts for Giving,” Thursday, Nov. 17 through Sunday, Nov. 20. Each year the many artists and writers connected with Studio 53, choose a local non-profit organization to receive a portion of the sales at their holiday event. This year the artists have selected the Boothbay Region Food Pantry as the 2016 recipient.

Founded in the mid-1980s, the food pantry serves families in Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Southport and Edgecomb. Clients may visit the pantry once a month, unless they have a food emergency. Pantry directors and volunteers provide them with a generous four-day supply of nutritious food. The number of people served rises and falls with the seasons with the greatest need during the long winter months. In October of this year, 94 families (representing nearly 200 people and many of them children) visited the pantry.

The food pantry, located on the ground floor of the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor, depends on monetary and food donations from the region’s year-round and seasonal residents, visitors, local civic organizations, area churches, businesses, and from the Boothbay region schools, Boy Scout and YMCA food drives.

In addition, starting with the support of the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation and with the continuing support of the Doree Taylor Charitable Foundation, the Pantry has funded a program where families received vouchers from the food pantry to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables. The program recently had to be terminated for lack of ongoing support from outside sources, but the pantry directors hope to revive the fresh food voucher program soon through additional donations and grants.

Studio 53 encourages all who attend “Gifts for Giving” to bring non-perishable food items or monetary donations for the pantry. Checks should be made payable to the Boothbay Region Food Pantry.

Gifts for Giving hours: Thursday, Nov. 17 - 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 18 - 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 19 – 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 20 – 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

These donations and the gallery's contribution will be greatly appreciated by the Boothbay Region Food Pantry' board of directors and volunteers as they carry out the pantry's mission to eliminate hunger among the families of the Boothbay region.