HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) — Thanksgiving is just days away, and local organizations are stepping up in a big way to make sure New Yorkers in need have meals for the holidays.
The cold drizzle in Harlem dampens everything but the spirit, the spirit of people who would rather give than anything else.
On Friday, they gave to the bundled up New Yorkers who lined up for a Thanksgiving meal.
Some days you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, and other days you get a blessing in disguise. The blessing has grown.
Tashana Pace, program director of The Children’s Village, said those blessings have grown. She remembers running out of turkeys only a few years ago, but this year, she was proud to hand out a record 900 turkeys and produce to feed 1,500 people.
“I can’t even explain the happiness inside my heart – and I’m not going to cry,” she said. “It just makes me feel really good that we’re able to provide and help.”
New Yorkers need help now more than ever, with pantry use twice as high as it was before the pandemic, according to a new study.
One in four children in New York City are struggling to access affordable, nutritious food.
“We have seen that people that didn’t necessarily fit the profile as a family that lacked are now fitting that profile,” said New York State Senator Cordell Cleare.
The volunteers themselves have become one big family.
The Kulu Foundation, who got involved a couple of years ago to help meet the community need, are back again this year and happy to see the event growing each year.
“Some of the people we talked to when they got their turkeys – it stuck with me how they said, ‘hey, we deserve love too,'” said Kulu Foundation President and Founder Matt Staubi.
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