For small, local vendors, the fair is their meal ticket

Pam Warren (left) and Alison Miller sell food for a local church. (David Kamerman/Globe Staff)

When the cows go home tomorrow from the Topsfield Fair, folks at the Congregational Church figure they'll have served more than 4,000 turkey dinners and hot turkey sandwiches dripping with gravy.

Hundreds of slices of pumpkin and apple pie will have been gobbled up by fairgoers hungry for Thanksgiving in October. "You can't beat it," said Shane Nevins, 37, of Tewksbury, after polishing off an $8 plate of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. "And it's a church that puts it on. It's not like some big corporation is trying to sell you something."

Home cooking is as much a staple of the 190-year-old fair as the Giant Pumpkin. The cooks are an army of volunteers from local nonprofits, including religious and civic groups, Scouts and veterans, for whom the Topsfield Fair is a cash cow. They hope to have pocketed a tidy sum from the 10-day fair to help their charitable works.

Scholarships, mission trips, and youth activities are among the good deeds funded from the sale of chili and chowder, hot cider and apple crisp, knishes and kosher hot dogs, among other fair fare.

"We don't have any fancy stuff, like paninis," said David Parsons, flipping burgers at the booth inside the main gate, run by the William Sutton Lodge, a Masonic group in Saugus. "We have good food, basic stuff."

And some say the pickings are darn good.

"It's really good," said Colleen Tracy, 7, of Easton, eyeing a giant ear of butter-and-sugar corn.

"The corn chowder smelled good," 12-year-old Casey Cronin of Amesbury said, digging in after bungee-jumping on the midway.

At the B'Nai Brith booth, where hot pastrami is a top seller, money raised will fund scholarships for local high schoolers. But most will be contributed to B'Nai Brith International, a Jewish philanthropic group that funds cultural and humanitarian projects all over the world.

"Over the years, we've been able to help a lot of people around the world, " said Ron Tanzer, co-manager of the booth run by the Peabody chapter, which is celebrating its 40th year at the fair. He declined to say how much money the group earns from the booth.

The Congregational Church of Topsfield, which touts itself as "Home of the Famous Turkey Dinners", could earn $20,000 to $30,000, a volunteer said. Much of the money will go to its operating budget. But a good chunk will also fund its mission projects, including volunteering at a Salem homeless shelter, and an upcoming youth trip to Philadelphia.

"It's our main fund-raiser," said Steve Whelan, 62, the church moderator, preparing dinners with his wife, Sandy. "We're very appreciative to have the opportunity. It's a great fund-raiser for us."

A student chapter of FFA - formerly called Future Farmers of America - at Essex Agricultural and Technical High School in Danvers runs a cider booth at the fair. The group hopes to make $3,000 to $4,000 , to pay for club activities, such as pizza, karaoke, and roller-skating nights. "The booth is very popular," said Lee Abdellah, the faculty advisor. "We earn money to have some fun outside of school. It gets other kids interested in us, too."

The Middleton Congregational Church, famous for its apple crisp, will put most of its earnings into its budget. "It helps us pay our heat, electricity," said Liz Hartel, a volunteer behind the booth.

James O'Brien, the fair's general manager, would not say how many food vendors are at the fair this year, or how many are nonprofits. "We're a nonprofit, and we don't have to disclose that," O'Brien said. The fair is run by the nonprofit Essex Agricultural Society.

Vendors said they rent space either from the society or Fiesta Shows, the Seabrook, N.H., carnival company that leases a portion of the fairgrounds. They also pay for electricity, maintenance, and license fees, vendors said. "It's not cheap," said David Comeau, commander of the Topsfield American Legion Post 255. The nonprofit will pay $1,550 to Fiesta Shows to cover rent and expenses for its 10-by-10-foot corn booth.

Making a buck at the fair is no piece of cake, however. Nonprofits face sizzling competition from sausage, fried dough, and other for-profit vendors. Big Joe's Burritos, Prima Italian Panini Delights, a cappuccino booth, and other trendy offerings have added a new layer of competition in recent years. "The fair has changed," said Whelan, a volunteer at the Congregational Church of Topsfield booth for 16 years. "There is more variety and more fast food."

The high-stakes are not lost on even the youngest volunteers.

"Come back and tell us if you find it cheaper anywhere else," said 12-year-old Olivia Messenger after selling a 20-ounce bottle of water for $1.25 at a table run by the youth group from Trinity Episcopal Church in Topsfield. The group sold water and homemade trail mix for $2.50 per bag to raise money for a mission trip to Seattle. "We're the best price at the fair," the youngster said.

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com.