Foodshare in Bloomfield, which plans to distribute 19,896 turkeys for Thanksgiving, is running about 1,200 turkeys shy of where it needs to be to start its distribution on Tuesday.
“This is not a made up number,” Foodshare President and CEO Gloria McAdam said Monday. “These are how many families signed up to receive a turkey.”
There was a steady flow of vehicles dropping off turkeys and other non-perishable food items, but “it’s not like the cars are backed up like we’d like to see,” McAdams said.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy dropped off his turkey and non-perishable items on Monday at noon. He said he would make some phone calls to businesses in the area to see if he couldn’t help get McAdam over the finish line.
The distribution center is located at 450 Woodland Ave., Bloomfield and they plan to stay open until 8 p.m. Monday in order to reach their goal. McAdam said last year on the Monday of Thanksgiving week only 300 turkeys were donated so 1,200 turkeys is a big request.
“We really need to try to kick it up a notch this year,” she added.
Foodshare is also shy of raising the $900,000 they planned to raise to help make sure families are fed all year long. At the moment, their “Turkey and a Thirty” campaign has raised $497,171.
McAdam said they went to the “Turkey and a Thirty” campaign on the organization’s 30th anniversary and it just stuck. She said $30 will feed an individual for a month.