COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — The demand for Thanksgiving meals is so high this year, even food assistance organizations like St. Matthew’s House were affected. Ahead of its “17th Annual Hope for the Holidays” turkey distribution event, the non-profit dealt with ingredient shortages and supply chain issues.
Ray Steadman, Vice President of Programs said, “We went to multiple grocery sellers, suppliers to try to make everything work. I think we had to get our cranberry sauce from some place, get green beans from another place. It was a challenge.”
The nonprofit also coped with 30 to 40% price spikes compared to last year. This year, the turkey and 6 sides provided to families were worth around $200.
The event officially kicked off in Immokalee Wednesday afternoon. “We want to be able to provide to that community the same level of support we do here,” he said. The turnout was so big, the line for the walkup distribution was cut off early after all 400 turkeys were given away. An estimated 100 people left empty-handed.
Wednesday, a second turkey distribution was hosted at The First Baptist Church of Naples. The non-profit gave around 400 turkeys away within the first hour. By the end of the day, that number increased to over 1,300 turkeys, about 5,200 meals.
“Hope for the Holidays” continues Friday, November 18th in LaBelle and Alva.