Our Voice: Thanksgiving means turkeys; lots of turkeys

It’s Thanksgiving Day, so let’s talk turkey.

Really.

This week, the Tri-City Union Gospel Mission handed out 300 turkeys and other food items to struggling families who, although not homeless, would not have been able to afford a traditional Thanksgiving feast today.

And the organization will need another 300 turkeys before Christmas, when it will once again provide holiday meals to low-income families.

The mission’s executive director, Andrew Porter, said that one of the greatest needs the organization has right now is getting enough turkeys after Thanksgiving.

In addition to the food boxes the mission already has distributed, Porter expects his crew will cook at least eight 20- to 24-pound turkeys to feed the estimated 200 to 300 people who likely will come to the shelter today for a Thanksgiving meal.

It won’t be long after today’s dishes are cleaned and dried that mission officials will be looking once again for donations and deals so they can continue to provide a little holiday cheer to the poor in the community come Dec. 25.

So anyone wishing to think about the “giving” part of today’s holiday, consider buying another turkey if you see one in the coming weeks and donating it to the mission. There are more homeless and poor in our community than many people realize.

Just ask Bill Kitchen, executive director of the Tri-Cities Food Bank. He said his group provided about 300 turkeys a day, beginning last Friday.

Some people received coupons for turkeys instead of the actual bird, but it still means they get to eat a traditional meal on Thanksgiving, complete with trimmings and other food items provided by the food bank.

So between the mission and the food bank, more than 1,700 low-income and homeless families were given a chance to enjoy Thanksgiving the way it was meant to be enjoyed — with a warm meal and fellowship.

And that’s just two charitable organizations in the community. There are many other groups in the Tri-Cities who held food drives and contributed cash so the less fortunate could have a proper meal today.

Kitchen said they would not have been able to provide so much without help.

“There’s no place like the Tri-Cities,” he said. “And I’ve been to other places. We are so fortunate the community is so giving.”

A turkey shortage was reported this year, and workers at many food banks around the country, including in nearby Moses Lake, were concerned they would not be able to provide a turkey to all the poor families who needed one.

But that anxiety didn’t hit the Tri-Cities like it did other communities, Kitchen said.

Kitchen said his group likely won’t be looking for more turkeys in the next few weeks, but will try to round up hams and beef for people who need help for their Christmas dinners.

So today, if you were able to buy the fixings for your own Thanksgiving feast, be grateful. And then consider buying something for the poor in our community.

Tri-Citians managed to help thousands of low-income families get through one holiday meal today, but the need continues.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Our Voice: Thanksgiving means turkeys; lots of turkeys."