Giving the Gobble

Efforts to give Thanksgiving to those in need

Cooper Park Houses Residents Council distributes turkeys and groceries to residents. Pictured (l to r) Greg Mejia, facility manager for St. Nicks Alliance; Debra Benders, president of Cooper Park Residents Council; Elisha Fye, vice president of Cooper Park Residents Council; and Geraldine Lawrence, Cooper Park Residents Council *Photo credit: Lori Ann Doyon*

With inflation and a turkey shortage causing food prices to soar, it’s harder than ever for struggling neighbors to provide for a holiday table. Food drives organized by community groups and nonprofits have been ramping up so Thanksgiving comes those who didn’t have the budget for it this year.

St. Nicks Alliance received 100 turkeys from Brooklyn Harvest/Foodtown, coordinated by Danny Wodzenski. These birds would go to low-income families and individuals. St. Nicks Alliance also purchased 100 turkeys for low-income residents of Williamsburg Houses. In addition, they coordinated with Southside United HDFC–Los Sures’s food pantry to provide 50 bags of groceries to go to residents of Cooper Park Houses. North Brooklyn Angels provided turkeys for Cooper Park Houses residents.

Jing Lu and Denisse Miramon of St. Nicks Alliance Community Preservation received 100 turkeys from Danny Wodzenski (2^nd from right) of Brooklyn Harvest/Foodtown who arranged the donation and delivery to Jennings Hall. *Photo credit: Lori Ann Doyon*

Rolando Guzman, dep. dir. of St. Nicks Alliance Community Preservation, hands out turkeys donated by Brooklyn Harvest/Foodtown at Jennings Hall.

Winner, winner turkey dinner! Lucky seniors at Lindsay Park Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) and Swinging Sixties Senior Center won turkeys via raffle. St. Nicks Alliance purchased the turkeys for the raffle: 10 went to Swinging Sixties and 15 went to Lindsay Park NORC.

St. Nicks Alliance’s food drive began at the beginning of November, and will run through December 31. You may drop off non-perishable/shelf-stable food weekdays from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. at: 2 Kingsland Avenue, 211 Ainslie Street, Capri Jet Realty (533 Metropolitan Avenue), 260 Powers Street, 306 Union Avenue, and 790 Broadway, Brooklyn or purchase from the St. Nicks Alliance charity list on AmazonSmile.