Tom's Turkeys donates gift cards to Norwin families in need

Families of Norwin School District students have help putting food on their tables this holiday season thanks to a North Huntingdon nonprofit that donated $5,600 worth of gift cards to a supermarket.

Tom’s Turkeys, which raises money to address food insecurity among families in the Norwin area, donated 224 gift cards — $25 each — to school officials to be distributed to students of families in need. The gift cards are redeemable at Aldi, which has a store in North Huntingdon.

The gifts cards will be distributed among the district’s seven schools — 32 to each of Norwin’s schools. It is the third year for the program, said Tom Hempel, founder of Tom’s Turkeys.

The families receiving the gift cards were those who opted-in for the assistance, said Assistant Superintendent Natalie McCracken.

“The school personnel (in each of the buildings) choose the families that would benefit from the support at this time of the year,” McCracken said.

The need for the gift cards is sufficient enough that all of the gift cards are distributed, McCracken said.

Hempel said they were able to make the donation through the community support “that has been wonderful.” The money was raised through the organization’s major fundraisers — the annual golf outing and a Gobbler Gala, Hempel said.