Tom’s Turkey Drive deserves support
For the last 10 years there has been an amazing event in Spokane. Tom’s Turkey Drive helps thousands of low-income families across Spokane County enjoy a Thanksgiving meal.
As a food bank manager, I know the anxiety that comes with pulling together the food to help hundreds of families. Everyone who runs a food bank in Spokane County is worried there won’t be enough to meet the need. However, I believe that we can do it. As the chair of the Spokane County Outlets, the network of county food banks, I know how important it is for all of us to work together.
Our committee estimates that 10,000 families will be standing in food bank lines during Thanksgiving week. There are people who donated turkeys last year who need one this year. We want to make sure each and every family in need gets a turkey and dinner. I want to ask everyone to please support Tom’s Turkey Drive. For only $15 you can sponsor a turkey dinner. Just go to any of the Rosauers grocery stores in Spokane County.
By the way, we’re not just talking about a turkey. Families get fresh potatoes, gravy, stuffing, vegetables, cranberry sauce and more. How is this possible for $15? It’s because the sponsors, donors, and every food bank get behind the event.
How do we distribute those turkeys and dinners? The food bank outlets ask the Salvation Army to act as the central distribution point. I have to thank them for taking on this challenging role. They invest hundreds of staff and volunteer hours organizing our central distribution and helping ensure that we don’t have duplication of services.
For those who cannot travel to Salvation Army’s central location, each of the outlets requests and receives turkeys for families in their community. The food banks in Deer Park and Elk received more than 500 turkeys in 2008. In 2008, the drive also provided 750 turkeys for Spokane Valley, 64 for Cheney, and 40 for Otis Orchards.
We have a very similar plan in place for this holiday. We want to work together to provide a turkey and dinner for everyone who needs it. And we want to make sure they are distributed fairly throughout the community. I hope everyone will join us in making this a wonderful Thanksgiving for the entire community.