It's a familiar scene during the holidays—in food pantries across the nation, volunteers are packing up boxes of frozen turkey, potatoes, and cranberry sauce for needy families on Thanksgiving day. At a small food pantry in Oswego, the scene was no different.
“It's been a long month, but it's worth it,” said Debbie Deeb, the director of the Human Concerns Center. “I think there are certain staples in life, I think everyone should have a place to live, food to eat. I think there's just too many people who go without.”
She estimated that 240 boxed dinners were given out over the course of the day. Much of the fresh produce is donated from local farmers, and volunteers from the Oswego Fire Department helped carry the boxes out to the clients' cars.
With her young son in tow, Mary Motyka of Scriba said that times are hard, but she's looking forward to having a Thanksgiving turkey on the table tomorrow.
“We're going to celebrate Thanksgiving at home,” she said. “I'm going to have the kids help me with making the homemade stuffing, stuff the bird in.”
Across central and northern New York at this time of year, food pantries and charities are making sure that needy families have enough to eat on Thanksgiving Day.
In Syracuse, the Rescue Mission will deliver 1,400 hot meals on Thursday, and is preparing to serve another 300 people at their downtown location.
