Food banks receive turkey donations for Thanksgiving

By Lethbridge Herald on October 7, 2022.

Herald photo by Ry CLarke Mac Nichol, executive director for the Food bank, along with operations lead, Darren Babin, and members of Lethbridge Conservative Association unload seven cases of turkeys Friday at the Lethbridge Food Bank.

Ry Clarke – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

On Monday Canadians will gather with friends and family to dig into a festive Thanksgiving meal. 

Helping with this season of togetherness and giving, the Lethbridge Conservative Association donated turkeys on Friday to the Lethbridge and Interfaith Food Banks. 

As part of a fundraiser for local MP Rachael Thomas, the LCA raised 53 turkeys for the food banks. 

“We did this fundraiser in 2020, and we were so encouraged by the generosity of our members buying turkeys and donating them,” said Catherine Furakawa, president of LCA. “Lethbridge has continually shown that it is a very generous community. It is overwhelming for us to see people being willing to donate to a cause, and donate to those in need within our community.”

“Rachel Thomas reached out to us to say they wanted to put on a fundraiser and help raise funds and turkeys,” said Mac Nichol, executive director for the Lethbridge Food Bank. “The greatest part about it is she just came out, they did the work for us. They showed up and gave us turkeys. That really means a lot to us, it lets us do our programming and making sure that we can do what we are here for. It helps support us in that way, its beautiful.”

Speaking about donations as the seasons change, Lethbridge Food Bank is gracious to have support in these times. 

“Our community is extremely supportive,” said Nichol. “It comes out in the last few months of the year, November to December, for the rest of the year we usually try and get along. This time of year, when we are running low on food for them to come out and support us right now is a huge deal.”

Thankful for the donation, the Lethbridge Food Bank is always happy to receive help from the community. 

“We are always looking for support in any way,” said Nichol. “The big three for us is time, can you come in and volunteer. Funds, they go a long way for us. We can really leverage those dollars more than the average person can. Then we really appreciate the word of mouth and coming in and telling us about what we are doing right and what we need to change and getting into our community.”

With seven cases of turkeys going to the Lethbridge Food Bank, they will be able to help those less fortunate have an easier time this thanksgiving when gathering round to be thankful. 

“It’ll be enough for the rest of our families coming in today,” said Nichol. “We run a hamper program. Once a month we give about two and a half weeks worth of food. During October and Christmas, we try to boost up those hampers a little bit and turkeys are one way we do that.”