Salisbury steps up to help other towns meet their holiday turkey-drive targets
Salisbury campaign will return next year, says food bank president
The Town of Salisbury's inaugural turkey drive brought in more than twice as many donations than organizers were aiming for, so they're sharing the extra bounty with local food banks in Sussex and Shediac.
In the past, all three towns received their Christmas turkeys each year from Moncton's Sue Stultz Turkey Drive, which has been a tradition since 1991. However, as donations slowed in recent years, the organizers made the decision to only collect donations for the Greater Moncton Area.
Laurie Stewart, president of the Salisbury Helping Hands food bank, said everyone in town rushed to come up with a way to provide turkeys as part of the holiday boxes for families in need.
"It was very last-minute, because I found out on Thursday and [Moncton] launched their turkey drive on Monday," he said.
Even with such short notice, Stewart said he was able to get the local fire department and the mayor on board, and Salisbury was able to launch its own Christmas turkey drive with a target of 150 donations.
"The response from this community in Salisbury was unbelievable," he said.
"We had a 'fill the cruiser' night and we filled three cruisers and had to put stuff in the fire truck."
In less than a month, Salisbury counted more than 300 turkeys in their freezer, Stewart said.
His team had a lot of fun doing the drive and some companies from Moncton even made donations, he said.
Regardless of what happens with Moncton's turkey drive, Stewart said Salisbury will continue with its own next year, which his team is already thinking about.
Sussex turkey delivery
On Monday morning, Stewart loaded about 80 turkeys into a van for The Salvation Army Sussex Community Church.
"We said that right from the start that we would share with other food banks that need them, so we will follow through our promise," he said.
Shelly McCready, who works for the Salvation Army in Sussex, called the Town of Salisbury a "lifesaver."
A small community has a better understanding of the struggles of poverty in another small community, she said.
Their team in Sussex didn't have enough notice to plan a local turkey drive, she said. Had the help from Salisbury not arrived, McCready said they may have had to purchase turkeys, which would have reduced their budget for other Christmas groceries.
She said the need for food in rural communities is increasing and the number of users at their food bank is going up.
Resident Vanessa Lewis visited the Salisbury Helping Hands food bank to collect groceries, including a Christmas turkey for her uncle.
Lewis said the turkey she was picking up was "very special" for her uncle because he wouldn't be able to afford a Christmas dinner without it.
She described the town's efforts as "really selfless."
"I think it just shows that all these little, small communities are one big community," said Lewis.
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