Community pulls together to donate food to help feed many
Gilroy – Once again, Gilroy and the surrounding community have responded to a call for help in a big way, donating hundreds of turkeys and thousands of pounds of canned yams, dried mashed potatoes and other packaged foods to help brighten the holidays for poor families and homeless people.
Ten days ago, a news story detailed how St. Joseph’s Family Center had only 20 turkeys on hand as the holidays approached – far short of the 600 needed to serve poor families for Thanksgiving.
The giving spirit has revved up since then, according to Vicky Martin, St. Joseph’s food distribution coordinator.
“Lines of turkeys have been flowing in the door,” Martin said. “Gilroy is pretty consistent. As soon as you let them know you need them, they’re very generous.”
In addition to hundreds of individual donations, the food pantry has received multiple gifts of dozens of turkeys – 20 came from a construction company, 33 from the Gavilan Community College honors society, and 40 from a local dentist. The food pantry collected more than 500 turkeys in less than 10 days.
The much-needed donations headed out the door more quickly than they arrived. The doors of St. Mary Catholic Parish gymnasium, where St. Joseph’s operates, did not open until 9am Monday, but people started lining up two hours early, Martin said.
She estimated that 250 families received turkeys Monday. Each bird was accompanied by a 70-pound box of stuffing, mashed potatoes and other packaged foods.
“So far right now we’ve had extremely good feedback,” Martin said. “Everybody is so appreciative. We get a lot of happy faces.”
A few blocks south, workers at the Salvation Army on Fifth Street are not worried about a food shortage this year. They expect to have plenty of chickens and turkeys to hand out to roughly 400 families, and the gift-wrapped barrels it distributes to post offices, grocery stores and department stores have in the region have received plenty of canned goods.
“The food drive is moving along,” said Ellen Torchio, the Salvation Army’s social services director. “We’re concentrating on toys because last year we fell short on toys.”
In addition to dropping off toys for kids at one of the Salvation Army barrels, residents this year can make a child’s Christmas wish come true by visiting the Salvation Army or a Denny’s in Gilroy or Morgan Hill. As part of a national campaign, each Denny’s will have a Christmas tree with ornaments inscribed with the gift request of a child.
As Thanksgiving approaches, both groups say they’ll be able to meet needs of local families and homeless people.
Torchio said, “We’re doing pretty good right now, but obviously Christmas is coming up.”
