Inter-Faith Food Shuttle held its 6th annual “Turkey Takeout” event this past Friday, November 16th , distributing turkeys, fresh produce, bread, and pies for Thanksgiving meals to partner agencies and pantries for 500 families in need across the Triangle area this Thanksgiving. Food is donated by U.S. Foods, Ford's Produce, and other food donors, as well as gleaned from farmers' fields by Inter-Faith Food Shuttle volunteers. This year, we were able to distribute:
- 500 Turkeys
- 1000 lbs of green beans
- 1050 lbs of cabbage
- 3596 lbs of collard greens
- 5000 lbs of sweet potatoes
- 1500 lbs of rice
- 332 lbs of bread
- and 1050 lbs worth of pumpkin pies!
Thanks to Smokey Norris, Matt Blaisdell, and Bill McGehee of U.S. Foods; Melanie West of Ford's Produce, as well as their driver William; Lindsay Perry, our Local Produce Coordinator; the IFFS Warehouse staff (Dennis Wooten, Crystal Green, Lance Coley, and Patricia Wallace); and the IFFS Food Recovery & Distribution staff (Don Eli, Elizabeth Rodgers, Tradell Atkins, and Joann O'Neal) for making this possible!
Among the 25 agencies and pantries receiving food to distribute to families they have selected who are most in need:
- Alliance of Aids Services Pantry, Durham
- Benson Medical Center, where IFFS hosts a Medical Mobile Market, Benson
- Catholic Parish Outreach Pantry, Raleigh
- Church at Clayton Crossing, Clayton
- Community Helpers, Knightdale
- El Vinculo, Siler City
- Episcopal Farmworker Ministry, Dunn
- Family Life Pantry, Smithfield
- Freedom House Shelter, Chapel Hill
- Garner Area Ministries Pantry, Garner
- IFFS School Pantries in Durham
- New Jerusalem - IFFS Mobile Market, Rocky Mount
- Passage Home, Raleigh
- Positive Generation, Princeville
- Regeneration Development, Pine Tops
- Tarboro Community Outreach Shelter, Tarboro
- The Oaks Community, Raleigh
- Universal Outreach Pantry, Wake Forest
While this distribution of food means that 500 more families will be able to enjoy a holiday meal this week, there are still far too many families who will go without. With 1 in 4 children right here in the triangle at risk for hunger, the need in our community is great. What’s more, even as people are going hungry, about 130 lbs. of food per person ends up in landfills (USDA). As a grassroots response to food waste at the local retail and wholesale level, our Food Recovery and Distribution Program collects healthy, perishable food from over 300 donors and quickly distributes it to agencies in the greater Triangle area on 13 refrigerated trucks. Additionally, the excess production of area farms is a rich source of fresh, healthy produce. Our Field Gleaning Program connects farmers who have excess crops with people who need fresh produce. We bring a farmer-trained volunteer crew, gather the produce, and distribute it to people in need in our seven county area.
Find out how you can help area families need on our website here.
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!