23rd Annual HOG Turkey Run

Please join us on Sunday, October 29th for the 23rd Annual HOG Turkey Run sponsored by the Hartford Harley Owners Group (HOG) and Gengras Harley Davidson!

This innovative turkey drive will kick-off our 2017 Turkey and Thirty Campaign. Interested riders can register at Gengras Harley Davidson in East Hartford from 10-11:45 am.  At 12:00 pm police will escort all riders from Gengras Harley Davidson to Foodshare in Bloomfield followed by lunch at Salute. The cost is one frozen turkey per person or $30 per bike. All checks should be made out to Foodshare.

Our Hungry Neighbors Were Seen and Heard

During our Thanksgiving season Foodshare staff members, Bea and Jim received a generous donation from AdTech Systems, an audio-visual tech company in Manchester.

Members from the firm were able to support our hungry neighbors with 23 turkeys and 10 bags of food.

Thank you AdTech Systems for your support during the holiday season!

Traded in Suits for Gloves

In addition to turkeys, many corporate groups flew into the warehouse during our Thanksgiving season to sort through donated food and provide our hungry neighbors with a healthy meal. Cigna was among those groups, raising nearly $13,000 to benefit local families and spending time volunteering with us. Thank you!

Students Schooled On Hunger

Just a few hours before it was time to take off and  enjoy a festive dinner with family, Foodshare staff  received a visit from a trail of 6-12th graders from the Metropolitan Learning Center, bringing with them donations of non-perishable food.

The  inquisitive group of young people had the opportunity to take a tour of the warehouse, led by Warehouse Manager, Rich. 

For the past ten years the school has run a Turkey and Thirty campaign in support of Foodshare's work to feed our hungry neighbors during the holiday season and beyond.

Thank you Metropolitan Learning Center for being so committed to helping local families put food on the table!

View more photos >

Hungry Families Stuffed by Pepperidge Farm

Pepperidge Farm in Bloomfield has been an active participant in Foodshare's Turkey and Thirty campaign for the past 5 years. This year, they provided 2,580 pounds of stuffing for hungry families!

Foodshare is grateful for neighbors like Pepperidge Farm and their driver Bill!

Wethersfield Volunteer Ambulance Responds to Turkey Alarm

Wethersfield Volunteer Ambulance has been supporting Foodshare's Turkey and Thirty Campaign for many years, and we couldn't be more grateful.

This year's drive, supported by The River 105.9 radio personality Joe Aguiar, collected 249 turkeys for families in need and $3,939 thanks to the generosity of nearby residents!

Grocery Stores Stuffed with Generosity

Foodshare's Turkey and Thirty campaign this year could not have been successful without the support of our local retail partners. Thank you to Big Y, Stop & Shop, ShopRite, Westside Marketplace, and Highland Park Market for your turkey drives and for offering to be collection sites!

Connecting You to Turkey: NBC Connecticut Turkey Drive

NBC Connecticut's "Connecting You to Joy" annual food drive provided Foodshare with $1,038 and 203 turkeys for our hungry neighbors. Thank you NBC Connecticut for supporting our Turkey and 30 campaign!

 To View More photos Click Here->

Glastonbury Town Drives Break the Bank

The Glastonbury community rallied this Thanksgiving, collecting a total of 443 turkeys to ensure hundreds of neighboring families could join the celebration. 

First Church of Christ Congregational raised $3,375 and collected 162 turkeys.
 Stop & Shop collected 281 turkeys along with $9,323. Glastonbury High School hosted a drive bringing in an additional $3,235!

In total the town raised $14,192 -- a $10,000 increase over last year!

Thank you so much for your incredible generosity, Glastonbury! 

10 Turkeys of a Feather Donated Together

Advocating against hunger is often a life-long passion, especially for those who have worked at Foodshare. Jill Nulsen, a former Foodshare employee, graciously made a donation to our Turkey and Thirty campaign, and this is what she had to say about her gift:

"Have you ever brought a meal to a family because they are going through a tough time? A loss, a surgery, a serious illness? If you have, you know the gratitude felt when you are willing to extend yourself for another family. Now multiply that by 15,000 families.....that is Foodshare's work this Thanksgiving, through you.

In the space of about 30 minutes, my family touched 10 families in Greater Hartford through the donation of 10 turkeys. Ten families!!! When was the last time you had an opportunity to do that, even in a year's time? I won't see their faces, but because Foodshare is in a position to know exactly who needs our help, I know there will be a Thanksgiving meal at their homes. Foodshare's positioning is critical to not only meeting the need, but knowing how to logistically make it happen. This Thanksgiving, I am so grateful to be a part once again of that community that nurtures and cares for one another."

Thank you, Jill, for continuing to support our neighbors in need! It's activists and donors like you that make it possible for us to do what we do.

My Giving Story: The Power of Peace

In 2013, Power of Peace was founded by Abhiram, Meghana, Sreenidhi, Neha, and Kumar. Power of Peace stepped forward to raise money for an orphanage in Bangor, India, as well as “close-to-home” charities, mostly those focused on children. The group has since expanded to 20 members, and one of their goals for the past few years has been to eradicate hunger.

             How will you give back today?
 

D'esopo Family Teams Up with Brad Davis

Thanks, once again, to the generous D'Esopo Family for hosting a Turkey and Thirty drive to benefit all of our hungry neighbors this Thanksgiving. With a location in Wethersfield and East Hartford, as well as a guest appearance by Brad Davis--host of WDRC's Talk of Connecticut--the group collected a total of 162 turkeys and $4,520 to support our hungry neighbors during the Thanksgiving season!

St. Thomas the Apostle Church Leads by Example

St. Thomas the Apostle Church in West Harford collected 90 turkeys for Foodshare. Thank you for feeding our hungry friends and neighbors!

View photos->

Corporate Partners Aren't Winging Turkey Season

Foodshare would like to extend gratitude to our corporate partners for all of their support this season. Thank you to Otis Elevator and Aetna for hostingTurkey and Thirty drives, and to Sysco, HomeGoods, and C&S Wholesale Grocers for your generous donations!

Bloomfield Fire Department Blazes as Beacon of Turkey Hope

Thank you to the firefighters, dispatchers and commissioners from the Bloomfield Fire Department for donating 45 turkeys to Foodshare to feed our hungry neighbors!

L to R: FF Mike Riley, LT. Jim Simone, Capt. Brendan Riley, Deputy Chief Peter Barnard, FF Carlos Lazu

Local Kids Promote the 'Power of Peace'

Foodshare extends its gratitude to Power of Peace members Abhiram B. (15), Meghana (15), Sreenidhi (16), Neha (14), Kumar (15), Abhiram T. (15), Aravind (12), Akshatha (13), Vaishnavi (12), Rushil (13), Arvind (11), Varun (11), Abhinav (13), Sivani (12), Goutham (14), Bhavana (15), Mantra, Sreekar, Ankith, and Arun and their families for their donation. Thank you for living up to your motto: “For the Kids, By the Kids.”

Six school kids: that’s all it took to start a grassroots movement for positive change. In 2013, Power of Peace was founded by Abhiram B., Meghana, Sreenidhi, Neha, and Kumar. Power of Peace stepped forward to raise money for an orphanage in Bangor, India, as well as “close-to-home” charities, mostly those focused on children. The group has since expanded to 20 members, and one of their goals for the past few years has been to eradicate hunger.

Earlier this year, they held their annual fundraising event, filled with music and dancing. They used a portion of that to donate $3,200 and 23 turkeys to Foodshare last week after United Way matched their donation. The founders shared that they they hope to break the stereotype that you need to be of a certain age to promote change.

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WFSB Turkey Urges For More Turkeys

During lunchtime today, WFSB's famous turkey, Scot Haney stopped by Foodshare to publicize our Turkey and Thirty campaign. Many Foodshare staff members including President and CEO, James Arena-DeRosa, joined Scot during the live coverage encouraging folks to contribute.

James made the following statement:

“This happens every year…we still have over 5,000 families hoping for turkeys early next week, but after tomorrow’s distribution we will have no birds left in the freezer. Fortunately we have many, many drives happening this weekend and if history has taught us anything, it’s that the Greater Hartford community always rallies.” 

During his afternoon appearance, Scot recognized LEGO for a very generous gift of $23,000, Enterprise for a $14,000 donation, and the owner of Zen Yoga Barre, Robin who presented Foodshare with a $5,000 check.


Thank you to all of the individuals and organizations who continually support our work to ensure those who are struggling in Greater Hartford have a place at the table. 

View more photos->

New Donor Has Joined the Turkey Campaign!

Just recently, Blo, a hair and beauty salon in West Hartford, joined Foodshare in providing our hungry neighbors with a meal during the Thanksgiving season! Welcome to the team Blo!

Click on the flyer below for more info:

Who Does Your Turkey Help?

"I was unemployed for 8 months in 2014. Exhausted my unemployment benefits and was struggling to find a job. I did end up finding temporary work making $10/hr part time but as a single mother it wasn't enough. When I received a final warning that my electricity would be shut off I reached out to our town for help. I was surprised and grateful that they paid my bill for me (I was just hoping for an extension so that came as a surprise). But then I was served with an eviction notice. I was only a month behind on rent and have never been in this position before.

While I was scrambling to figure out what to do, I received a letter in the mail from our town offering to provide us with an entire Turkey dinner for Thanksgiving. I was blown away. Honestly, Thanksgiving was the last thing on my mind but the gesture meant so much more to me than I can put into words. It gave me hope and showed me that people really do care.

By some miracle, everything ended up working out for me and my family, but the whole experience put everything in perspective. There are so many families struggling so much more than I was, who aren't as fortunate to have everything "work out". I want them to at least have a normal thanksgiving and know that people care. Now that I'm working and back on my feet I want to give back. Thank you for all that you do."

Visit ATurkeyand30.org to find a drive happening near you this weekend, or to donate online. Let's make sure every family--all 15,871 that requested a turkey--can celebrate Thanksgiving this year!

Turkey Wars 'Double Your Dollars'

 

11.21.16 UPDATE: The Glastonbury Swim Team collected 23 turkeys and $3,235. What an incredible job...we can't thank you enough!!!

 

We have so many amazing teams participating in our Turkey Wars competition this year, but one of our community groups--the Glastonbury Swim Team--is leading the flock. 

In October they began planning for their drive, creating flyers and spreading the word. Now all that hard work is paying off as they approach the $1,000 mark--a goal motivated by an anonymous match from a local family!

Their final push will be at Glastonbury High School on Sunday November 20 from 1:30-3:30. You can double your dollars by making a gift online today. 

Thank you to the Glastonbury Swim Team for supporting Foodshare this holiday season, and to all of our Turkey Wars teams. We hope you realize the incredible impact you are having on the lives of so many wonderful people this holiday season and beyond!

Turkey and Thirty drives are happening around the region, including several this weekend, including the Glastonbury Community Drive on Sunday. Visit ATurkeyand30.org for a complete list of locations.