Food Podcast: Food Bank prepares for busy Thanksgiving season
On this episode of the Food podcast presented by Clearview Federal Credit Union on the TribLIVE podcast network, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank talks turkey.
Thanksgiving is the busiest time of year for the Food Bank.
“Imagine you have trouble getting food on the table at any time of the year and then you have this added pressure of creating this fabulous meal for your family to gather,” said Charlese Hayden McKinney, the Director of Partner Network Program.
The holiday is such a big undertaking for the Food Bank, staff start to prepare in spring, working with suppliers and organizations to make sure every family has a Thanksgiving meal available to them.
“Last year, we met a mother of three who was working in a restaurant and the restaurant closed. She reached out to us saying, ‘How do I tell my kids we may not have Thanksgiving this year, we may not have turkey this year,’” said Hayden McKinney.
The Food Bank was able to connect that woman to one of its Thanksgiving programs for a full holiday dinner.
In fact, the Food Bank has two massive efforts to make sure every family has a turkey dinner this month.
One is a set of special turkey drive-up distributions where families can reserve a turkey and a box of thanksgiving items and pick it up this month.
“In addition to our normally scheduled food distributions, this year we’re hosting five large-scale turkey distributions where guests can get a turkey and a roughly 20 pounds box of sides,” said Erin Kelly, Director of Innovation and Distribution Programs.
This year, the Food Bank is facilitating the distribution of 2,400 turkeys and over 4,000 Thanksgiving boxes with all of the sides needed to prepare a full Thanksgiving meal. Both the Riverhounds and Clearview Federal Credit Union are sponsoring turkey distributions this year.
The second large effort is the KDKA Turkey Fund, which directly supports families who are already in need of food assistance.
“We turn those donations into $20 gift cards. Those gift cards are given to our partners including our food pantries and they give the gift cards out to families at the pantries,” said Hayden McKinney.
McKinney explains that the gift cards are primarily used to buy turkeys, but also gives people with dietary restrictions the option to choose another meat or item for Thanksgiving.
This year in partnership with PNC and KDKA-TV, the Food Bank anticipates serving over 36,000 families with certificates for turkeys and thanksgiving food.
To donate to the Turkey Fund you can:
1. Bring your donation to any PNC Branch
2. Text KDTURKEY to 50155
3. Mail check to: KDKA Turkey Fund, P.O. Box Thanks, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15230
4. Donate by clicking here to give a donation on the Food Bank’s website.
To make a reservation for one of the Food Bank’s turkey distributions, visit pittsburghfoodbank.org
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