• Three car clubs - USO, Impalas and Traffic - are staging a car show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Second Harvest Food Bank, 704 E. Industrial Park Drive in hopes those attending wil bring a frozen turkey to donate for needy families.
Some 1,452 families in Manteca, Ripon, and Lathrop may go without a traditional Thanksgiving turkey this year.
That’s because with less than four weeks to go, the Turkeys-R-Us effort has collected just $550 plus 20 frozen turkeys. They need to have money to purchase turkeys or turkeys in hand by Nov. 18 so they can be distributed to food closets in Manteca, Ripon, and Lathrop.
The food banks in the three communities rely on the Turkeys-R-Us drive not only to provide the main course for struggling families on Thanksgiving but also the trimmings such as cranberry sauce, stuffing, rolls, pumpkin pie mix, and canned vegetables. Donations on non-perishable meal trimmings are also being sought.
For the past 13 years, the community has stepped up with donations to make sure between 1,500 and 1,600 struggling households have something besides macaroni and cheese or hot dogs on the national day of thanks.
Last year, individuals and businesses as well as groups contributed more than 1,000 frozen birds plus donated well over $25,000 to purchase additional turkeys to make sure a combined 3,850 turkeys were provided to those in need on both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
While a number of those who receive food baskets with turkeys are on welfare, most are not. They typically are people on unemployment, struggling with a cutback in hours, single parents, the elderly on fixed income, or families dealing with a financial catastrophe such as major medical bills.
It will cost about $20 to provide a family of four with a turkey and around $50 for the main course and basic trimmings.
If you can assist Turkeys R Us, contact Coldwell Banker Crossroads (North and North Main Street in Manteca) at 823-8141. You can also call McNabb at 815-6754, Teunissen at 483-3365, or the second Harvest Food Bank at 239-2091.
If you have an actual turkey you’d like to donate, you can take it directly to the Second Harvest Food bank on Industrial Park Drive near the branch post office and indicate it is for Turkeys R Us. The drop-off can be done Monday through Friday before 4:30 p.m.
