DAMARISCOTTA — Twin Villages Foodbank Farm invites community members of all ages to celebrate Thanksgiving morning with the annual Foodbank Farm 5K and 1-Mile Walk or Fun Run. The volunteer-organized event takes place on Thursday, Nov. 26, at Coastal Rivers Salt Bay Farm, located at 110 Belvedere Road in Damariscotta.

Both the 5K trail run and 1-mile walk start at 9 a.m. The 5K course features two loops across broad, mown trails along the Great Salt Bay, taking runners through scenic fields with rolling hills. The race is not officially timed, but there will be someone at the finish line to let participants know their finish time, according to Coastal Rivers, in a news release. Vegetable prizes will be awarded to the top male and female finishers, as well as those with the best costumes.

Participation in the event is free, though monetary donations of any amount to Twin Villages Foodbank Farm are encouraged. All proceeds directly support the farm's mission to grow and donate fresh, nutritious produce to neighbors in need throughout Lincoln County.

Participants can register in advance online at twinvillagesfarm.org/foodbank-farm-5k/, with online registration closing at noon on Wednesday, November 25.

For additional details about the event, registration, or making a donation, please contact Sarah Cawthon at scawthon@twinvillagesfarm.org or call Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust at 207-563-1393.

TVFF’s mission is to grow and distribute healthy food for those who need it most in Lincoln County. TVFF serves pantries in Newcastle, Jefferson, Boothbay, Wiscasset, Waldoboro, Whitefield, New Harbor and share tables and youth food programs like FARMS at the YMCA.

Growing 50,000 pounds of food each season on 3 acres since 2015, the Foodbank Farm provides fresh food for free, thanks to community support. The Foodbank Farm also operates Community Food Storage Hub, where as much as 30,000 pounds of food is collected each year from grocery stores, farms, and local growers and stored until it can be used by a community partner.

The Farm operates in close partnership with Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust, which donates use of its prime farmland at Salt Bay Farm and provides administrative support. Coastal Rivers is a nonprofit, nationally accredited land trust with active programs in land conservation, water quality, trails and public access, and nature education in the Damariscotta-Pemaquid region.