GLOUCESTER, Va. (AP) - The Bread of Life food pantry in Gloucester is planning to hand out 700 turkeys for Thanksgiving on Nov. 17 - 250 more than were available last year.
The annual distribution will take place at Woodville Park instead of the food pantry, which is on the grounds of the Church of St. Therese on Main Street in Gloucester. It is open to clients already registered with Bread for Life.
“We received additional funding and are pleased to be able to purchase more this year,” said Bread for Life co-director Bob Quinzel.
The new location allows easier access to the parking lot on Woodville Park Road in Hayes. Quinzel said last year the parking lot at the pantry was overcrowded and people who arrived early for the distribution got blocked in waiting for someone to leave.
“This will be a drive-through distribution,” he said. “Carpooling would be a good idea.”
The food pantry purchases turkeys through the Virginia Peninsula Food Bank in Hampton. Last year the pantry was only able to purchase 450 turkeys after prices rose because of a bird flu that caused a shortage. The year before they handed out 500 before Thanksgiving.
“The pantry has seen consistency in the numbers of families they are serving,” Quinzel said. Each month, the pantry feeds about 840 families - that’s only about 40 or so more families a month than last year, Quinzel said.
“There is still a high needed but is a consistent need. It really hasn’t gone up or down in the last year,” he said.
So far this year, the pantry has distributed about 700,000 pounds of food, and Quinzel said he believes the number will be at 800,000 by December.
The pantry hit a milestone in February, marking the total distribution of around three million pounds of food since it started. The pantry, which Quinzel and his wife, Susan, took over in 2010, is a nonprofit ecumenical ministry run by members of more than 10 Middle Peninsula churches.
Three days a week, residents from the Middle Peninsula gather and wait for what the pantry has to offer. There are about 1,800 active families, which Quinzel said means they have received food in the past year.
“For us this is the right thing to do. We see people who have worked their whole life. They could be 60 years old or 65 or maybe they are in their 40s and due to an injury or an illness or another circumstance they don’t have food to eat. All my life I never thought I wouldn’t have food to eat,” Quinzel said. “’If it wasn’t for Bread for Life I wouldn’t be able to eat every day.’ I hear a story like that and I witness those things on a regular basis. Why do we do it? That’s why we do.”
Clients must register with the pantry and receive a card with a number that provides household information to designate the amount of food and meat they can receive on a weekly basis. The card also helps the pantry keep track of how many active families it is serving at any given point.
Quinzel said those interested in receiving a turkey Nov. 17 must already have their client card and be ready to present it. This year’s turkeys will only be handed out that day and will not available at the pantry after.
“That is different than in previous years,” Quinzel said. “If we don’t give them out they go back to the food bank.”
The pantry is a part of the Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula and partners with area farmers and grocery stores. Donations from the community throughout the year also help fill in the needs of the pantry. About 60 volunteers work with the food pantry.
The turkey distribution is set for 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, Nov. 17 at Woodville Park. Gates open at 8 a.m.
“Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday,” Quinzel said. “It’s just about being thankful for all the wonderful things. It’s beautiful and the turkey is a symbol for that whole day. We have the ability through the generous help provided by volunteers, donations and the food bank to make that day just as wonderful for those in need.”
The Bread for Life Community Food Pantry is open 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Mondays and Fridays and 1-5 p.m. Wednesdays. The food pantry accepts donations throughout the year, including canned vegetables, dry goods, jelly, peanut butter and canned tuna or chicken.
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Information from: Daily Press, https://www.dailypress.com/
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