"It's a really good cause:" Aurora Family Service to provide 3,100 families with Thanksgiving groceries



MILWAUKEE -- More than 3,000 of Milwaukee's neediest families will be able to cook their own Thanksgiving dinner.

For 19 years, Aurora Family Service has helped more than 55,000 Milwaukee-area families in need with the groceries for a Thanksgiving meal.

This year, Aurora Family Service will provide 3,100 families with their Thanksgiving groceries.

"I do this for our parents, for our children, so they can have a good dinner on Thanksgiving," said Mariadelina Lopez, MPS volunteer.

25 families identified by Milwaukee Public Schools officials will get meals from Lopez.

"They just don't have enough food to eat," said Lopez.

MPS is one of many organizations that has partnered with Aurora Family Service to distribute the food.

"I ask them to just find the 25 families this year that really could use this kind of help," said Jane Pirsig, executive director of Aurora Family Service.



Families sign up through Aurora Family Service or partnering community organizations ahead of time in order to receive the groceries on this delivery day.

"It's not just about the food. It is about the families creating those memories," said Pirsig.

This is a huge production -- with 300 volunteers working together. Some of them have delivered the food, others packed the bags, and some then picked the bags up to deliver them to the families.

"I believe it's a really good cause," said Sean Host, FIS global volunteer.

This program has been fully funded by donors, who include local businesses and their employees, and individual donors including Aurora caregivers. A donation of just $35 can provide a family with a 12-pound turkey, bread, butter, potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, fruit and dessert.