Holiday Meals : Volunteer groups across the county are offering lunches, dinners, food baskets and turkeys to people in need.

From the east end to the west end of Ventura County, volunteer groups are offering special holiday meals in the coming days. The following list charts some of the possibilities.

Wednesday: Jewish Family Services will offer a noon presentation on the Canadian Rockies followed by a catered traditional Thanksgiving luncheon for people 55 and older. Fee is $3. Temple Beth Torah Fellowship Hall, 7620 Foothill Road, Ventura. Call by 2 p.m. Monday for reservations. 659-5144.

Nov. 23: The Men’s Club of St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Church, 155 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks, can deliver food baskets and vouchers for turkeys to some needy families and the elderly in the community. For details, call 497-7029.

Nov. 27: Homebound participants in the Meals on Wheels Senior Nutrition Program can receive holiday meals at home as well. Call 388-4323. In addition, traditional Thanksgiving dinners will be served at several sites throughout the county to anyone 60 and older. The suggested donation per meal is $1.75 and $4 for younger guests. Meals at the Wilson and Colonia senior centers in Oxnard will be served at 12:30 p.m. The Senior Recreation Center in Port Hueneme will serve at 11:30 a.m. And the Goebel Senior Center in Thousand Oaks will sponsor meals at 11:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. The remaining centers will serve at noon. All centers require at least 48 hours notice. To guarantee a reservation, call the following numbers by 1 p.m. Nov. 22:

* Ventura--The East Ventura Meal Center at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 6300 Telephone Road, 658-6806. The dining center at Ventura Senior Center, 420 E. Santa Clara St., 652-7881.

* Oxnard--Colonia Senior Center, 126-B Amelia Court, 984-4632. Wilson Senior Center, 350 N. C St., 486-7079.

* Fillmore--Senior Housing Center, 533 Santa Clara St., 524-3756.

* Camarillo--Camarillo Senior Center, 1605 E. Burnley St., 484-8449.

* Thousand Oaks--Goebel Senior Adult Center, 1385 E. Janss Road, 497-1639.

* Moorpark--Moorpark Senior Center, 799 Moorpark Ave., 529-4016.

* Oak View--The Oak View Senior Center nutrition site has been closed. Residents of Oak View can dine at the Ventura Senior Center or at Ojai’s “Little House,” listed below.

* Ojai--HELP of Ojai “Little House” Senior Center, 111 W. Santa Ana St., 646-0144.

* Santa Paula--Santa Paula Senior Center, 530 Main St., 933-4263.

* Simi Valley--Simi Valley Senior Center, 3900 Avenida Simi, 526-9237.

* Port Hueneme--Port Hueneme Senior Recreation Center, 550 Park Ave., 487-4367.

* Piru--Residents should call 524-3756 in Fillmore.

Thanksgiving Day: Anyone is welcome to dine at the St. Thomas Catholic Church Parrish Hall, 130 W. Ojai Ave., Ojai, between noon and 3 p.m. Call to reserve, 646-4338.

Furr’s Cafeteria at 1301 W. Channel Islands Blvd., Oxnard, plans a traditional “all-you-can-eat” turkey dinner 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fee for adults is $5.99 plus beverage. No reservations required. 483-0187.

Thousand Oaks Elks Lodge 2477 will sponsor a dinner for Elks members, their widows and guests at 158 Conejo School Road. Social hour at 2 p.m., dinner at 4 p.m. Call by Nov. 22 for reservations, 495-3369, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Between 3 and 11 p.m., call 496-4550.

HELP of Ojai’s Meals on Wheels program will deliver a prepared traditional Thanksgiving dinner to homebound people of any age. Donation is $3 or $3.25 for meal and evening snack. Call by 4 p.m. Nov. 27, 646-5122.

Nov. 29: Moose Lodge 1394, 10269 Telephone Road, Ventura, and the Laidlaw bus company will provide free transportation and a Thanksgiving dinner at the lodge from 1 to 5 p.m. for anyone. Buses will leave both senior citizen centers in Ventura at 1, 2, 3 and 4 p.m. The last bus will return from the lodge at 5 p.m. For details, call 647-4368.

Coping With Holiday Blues: Senior Outreach Services offers mental health services to residents of Ventura County who are 65 and older and meet certain qualifications. To determine if services are needed, a team of geriatric mental health specialists visits senior citizens at home. Seniors can receive short-term outpatient therapy for depression, anxiety or chronic mental illness. Fees vary. Help is available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at 738 E. Main St., Ventura, 652-7820, or 1459 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Suite C-1, Thousand Oaks, 371-8300.

When the Turkey’s Gone: Public awareness peaks during the holiday season, but hundreds of senior citizens in Ventura County volunteer their time year-round to the cause of seeing others well-fed.

As part of Food Share Inc., a nonprofit food bank that sponsors food programs throughout the county, nearly 200 volunteers collect surplus produce daily from area fields and transport it to a warehouse. Then about 500 more senior volunteers in the Brown Bag Program prepare the groceries for low-income senior citizens at 28 weekly pickup sites.

But the program needs more volunteers to deliver food to shut-ins. For information, call 983-7100.