The clock is running down on Foodshare’s attempt to provide turkeys and Thanksgiving Day fixings for needy families in 42 towns throughout the greater Hartford region this holiday.
As of Monday afternoon, Foodshare said it was still nearly 3,000 turkeys short of its goal of 19,000 birds for the holiday, but that it planned to open its Bloomfield location at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, the final day Foodshare officials say they can accept turkeys in time to have them delivered and thawed for needy families before Thanksgiving.
“Last year at this time, we had already achieved our goal of 19,000 turkeys,” said Gloria McAdam, Foodshare’s president and CEO. “It has been a really challenging year, and we’ve been a few thousand turkeys behind this whole week.”
As of Monday afternoon, Foodshare reported that it had received 16,274 turkeys, but still needed 2,726 more birds, according to information on its website. The non-profit was also significantly short of its fundraising goal of $800,000 in monetary contributions, with $301,707 still needed to be collected during the final day.
As the clock ticked down Monday, individuals and agencies from throughout the state did their part to help the non-profit meet its goal, with some showing up at Foodshare’s Bloomfield warehouse with trunks full of turkeys or envelops stuffed full of cash; trucks from the Old Saybrook Police Department and Aiello Home Services both showed up Monday afternoon with 100 turkeys apiece.
Highland Park in Manchester teamed with the DRC-FM crew Monday afternoon on a turkey drive in the store’s parking lot on Highland Street that yielded more than 300 turkeys.
Timothy Devanney, the owner of Highland Park who has been a strong supporter of the organization that aims to eliminate hunger in the greater Hartford area, said it’s important to remember that Foodshare and so many other charity organizations are supported primarily through donations, and that so much of what they receive usually only comes in in a short period of time around the holidays.
“During the holidays is the most important time for them,” said Devanney. “They collect most of their money during the holidays that they use to help families throughout the year.”
Amanda Renna, a communications specialist for Foodshare, said that she believed the organization could still make its goal by Tuesday – but noted the only way that would be possible is if people spread the word about the organization’s need for turkeys and money this holiday season.
“I do believe we’ll make it,” Renna said. “But at this point it’s up to the public.”
For more information about how and where to donate log onto the organization's website at www.foodshare.org.
