SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - A chance for all families to enjoy a healthy Thanksgiving meal is what The Gray House hopes to accomplish this holiday season through their annual food drive.

The Springfield nonprofit held their last day of registration for people in need Tuesday morning.

"We're looking for gravy packets, cranberry sauce, stuffing and dessert items," said executive director Kristen McClintock. "So things like pie shells and pie fillings or even boxed cake and frosting goes a long way into making it a complete meal."

McClintock said this year could be the largest turnout of families yet, with several hundred people having signed up this month. She said the number of people facing food insecurity during the holiday season throughout Massachusetts has continued to increase by the year.

"Right now with inflation, food is the first place that families cut," McClintock said. "And so what we're seeing is that when rent goes up, the food budget for the family goes down accordingly, and we're seeing a lot of families just who can't come up with 60, 70 dollars for a Thanksgiving meal."

McClintock said The Gray House mainly relies on local support, so a potential government shutdown at the end of the week would not affect their food distribution.

But, she said many families in Massachusetts do rely on government assistance for food which would hurt them as a result, so it's even more important that they can provide a Thanksgiving meal to as many people as possible.

"We had a women last week whose rent had gone up 70 dollars," McClintock said. "And she came to us and she was so thankful for this opportunity to get a meal because she said otherwise, she and her family were just going to go without. And so to be able to provide families who are working hard, they're doing everything right, just that opportunity to gather with their loved ones and to take part is really important to us."

The Gray House will be distributing food to families Monday, Nov. 20 and Tuesday, Nov. 21 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

McClintock said people who may have missed registration but are still eligible can come down Tuesday after the final distribution to receive any food that may still be left over.