Thanksgiving is a joyful time for sharing a meal with family and friends and being grateful for all that we have. For many families in Ulster County though, Thanksgiving is a stressful time as they struggle to figure out how they will provide the type of meal that everyone looks forward to, that truly everyone deserves to have.
Last year we began what we hope will be an annual tradition of working with The Ulster County People’s Place to support their Annual Thanksgiving Feast. We sat down with Christine Hein, the program director and asked her what they really needed and her response was two things: stuffing and butter.
Most food drives do not accept perishable foods which would include the butter needed to make the stuffing, so many people will not donate either. We decided that the best way we could help would be to engage our amazing Hudson Valley Community by creating a one-for-one program. For every box of stuffing, we collect we will buy the butter needed to finish the dish.
Last year we collected around 500 boxes of stuffing and donated 525 sticks of butter! Thanks to many local small businesses and individuals we are on track to beat that amount which is definitely something to be grateful for!
The People’s Place Thanksgiving Feast provides a turkey and all the “fixings” for a holiday feast to households who pre-register during October and November. Families will receive a turkey, gravy, potatoes, stuffing, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, butter, and pie.
The People’s Place served 1,196 families last Thanksgiving.