"It's important to deliver a message of hope:" Volunteers fill bins with Thanksgiving dinner
MILWAUKEE -- We're just days away from Thanksgiving and while many of us are counting down until the time we can share a wonderful meal with loves ones, your neighbors may not be as fortunate. But one community organization is making sure they are not forgotten.
Hunger Task Force has a holiday tradition of filling “Thanksgiving Bins,” which are assembled and filled with special foods that make up a traditional holiday meal.
More than 100 volunteers assembled 800 Thanksgiving bins, complete with all of the tasty favorites.
Ashlyn Adams was one of the volunteers feverishly working to assemble Thanksgiving bins. For Adams, aid is a family affair, her dad's company contributed exponentially.
"What Rexnord does, is they match the amount of turkeys that Hunger Task Force raises," said Sherrie Tussler, Executive Director, Hunger Task Force.
Sherrie Tussler says each year 800 bins are filled to the top with Thanksgiving dinner treats like fresh potatoes, gravy, fresh apples, stuffing, sweet potatoes and dinner rolls. Plus the centerpiece of the meal – a turkey.
"It may seem incomprehensible, but a lot of people can't afford a turkey," said Tussler.
"Poverty is a year-round problem. Here in Milwaukee, we are the second poorest city in the nation. One in four people will wake up in a house that doesn't have any food in it every single day here in Milwaukee County," said Tussler.
The Thanksgiving bins were packed and loaded on palettes, to be distributed to local food pantries. A deed that's nourishing the body and spirit.
"It's important to deliver a message of hope and security. It's important for people to feel that their Thanksgiving meal is a dignified one," said Tussler.
The Hunger Task Force director says donations are down because people have registered for food drives, but have not brought the food in.
If you would like to make a difference in someone's holiday there is still time, feel free to donate food or money, which the organization can also use to buy food.