NILES — With the spooky season wrapping up, the Shelton’s Farm Market crew is swapping pumpkins and cornstalks for wreaths and stockings — and offering customers a chance to spread some holiday cheer as well.

Now through Dec. 15, the farm market is packing baskets of food to help families in need across the Niles area. For $28.95 — $10 less than the retail price — customers can become a Secret Santa for a family in need by purchasing a basket filled with food that will then be donated to them.

“This is our way to help community members give back to people in our community who are in need,” said Nick Shelton, a fourth-generation fruit peddler at Shelton’s Farm Market. Shelton, also the mayor of Niles, helps to operate the family business alongside his father, Mike, grandfather, Jimbo, great-uncle, Joe, and a number of other family members.

“Last year, what we found was a lot of people would come in and say, ‘I don’t have a family to give this to, but I want to give this to a family who needs it,’” Nick said.

This year, if families do not have a family in mind they wish to donate to, Shelton’s can help.

“This year, it’s different because we’ve partnered with these four organizations — The Salvation Army, Ferry Street Resource Center, Brandywine and Niles schools — to basically find families who are in need of food boxes like this,” Nick said. “If a person wants to buy these and they have a family in mind, they can do that, too.”

Ric Pawloski, director of the Ferry Street Resource Center in Niles, said partners like Shelton’s make a big impact during the holiday season.

“We actually get a number of people involved with donations so we can buy food, as well as gather food. We’ve also gotten commitments from Chemical Bank, Harding’s, Herman & Kittle and Walmart,” Pawloski said. “Nick had reached out to me and said there were situations where people wanted to donate and didn’t know who to donate to. We’re very, very thankful to him for thinking of us. That will help us to increase the amount of families we can help.”

Boxes will be packed with 50 pounds of food, none of which needs to be refrigerated. Items include potatoes, carrots, oats and fruit punch, among other items — “wholesome food that will feed a family well,” as Nick put it.

“If you did just shop the aisles for this food, it would in theory cost $10 more,” he said. “This way, we put the boxes together for you. It’s a really good deal for the money. You couldn’t get the same price if you were just shopping off the shelf.”

After the Dec. 15 deadline, the Shelton’s staff will pack the boxes and distribute them to families identified by the partner organizations.

Shelton’s, which has provided locally grown produce, a full-service meat counter, groceries, bulk foods and nursery stock to the greater Niles area for 73 years, is constantly looking for ways to evolve and cater to the community’s needs. The holiday efforts also kick off a new feature on Shelton’s website: online ordering.

“A person doesn’t even have to come into the market to place an order for these people,” Nick said. “You will be able to order online on our website, sheltonfarms.com, beginning Friday.”

Shelton’s will also begin selling other items on its website, such as meat bundles, which customers can order online and pick up at the store without having to shop the aisles.

For now, Shelton’s encourages customers to take advantage of an opportunity to give back to their neighbors.

“Deliver it yourself, or let Shelton’s help you,” the business wrote on its Facebook page. “Be a Secret Santa and help a family in need!”