Kulia Lemus grew up in a single mom household and remembers the days when holidays were a financial struggle, despite the fact her mother worked multiple jobs.
Since she started Operation Gobble Gobble in 2010, Lemus and other volunteers have provided 155 Gilroy and Hollister families with a complete holiday meal during Thanksgiving or Christmas. Operation Gobble Gobble provides families with everything from the turkey pan to the butter, milk, turkey, veggies and stuffing needed to make the feast a reality.
Families don’t need to fill out a form to apply, as Lemus selects her families simply by talking with them. Lemus started Operation Gobble Gobble when she bought ingredients for her family’s Thanksgiving feast while she was on maternity leave. The bill was less than $50.
“But that’s a lot for some families,” Lemus added. “I told my husband I wanted to buy ingredients for people to have complete meals.”
This Thanksgiving, her goal is to provide meals to 100 families.
“There are just so many families out there. They don’t have to be categorized as ‘in need,’ ” Lemus said. “They can have two adults working multiple jobs and still not have enough to do that.”
Operation Gobble Gobble has been growing steadily. The first year, they delivered holiday meal packages to four families. The following year, Lemus posted about Operation Gobble Gobble on Facebook and friends joined the cause. Together, they served 23 families.
This month, Operation Gobble Gobble will be hosting events in Hollister and Gilroy to raise funds for this year’s Operation Gobble Gobble outreach.
On Thursday Oct. 17, there will be a raffle and silent auction at Station 55 Bar and Grill, located on Fifth Street in Gilroy. There will be a Silent Auction from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and music and Karaoke until 11:30 p.m.
On Thursday Oct. 24, there will be a fundraising raffle at Mars Hill Coffee House in Hollister from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. At both events, Operation Gobble Gobble will be collecting instant mashed potatoes, stuffing, cans of corn, green beans, and cranberry sauce to include in Thanksgiving Day meal packages.
For more information, email Kulia Lemus at op*******************@ya***.com, or check out the organization’s Facebook page.
