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Turkey giveaways abound -- but pantry shelves are getting bare
The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.
Turkey giveaways abound -- but pantry shelves are getting bare
It's that time of year when reporters' inboxes get filled to bursting with press releases on turkey giveaways. State legislators, City Council members, clubs and professional associations, private companies and the city are all giving out birds for Thankgiving tables. Even the administration, which wants to move homeless-feeding programs off of the Ben Franklin Parkway and other public spaces, has found a site where distributing food (actually, vouchers for food) is acceptable, down in South Philadelphia.
The press releases come complete with offers to interview grateful recipients, and canned quotes like this one from FreshDirect, which gave 100 turkeys to Project H.O.M.E. residents: “My family and I are very grateful to FreshDirect for helping to provide us with a Thanksgiving meal,” said Bonita Smith, long-time Project H.O.M.E. resident. “We are truly blessed to have the good people at Project H.O.M.E. and FreshDirect help make our holiday special.”
It's a nice gesture, sure. It doesn't answer what Philly's hungry will eat the other 364 days of the year, or answer how people like Smith and organizations like Project H.O.M.E. will manage on even less this year.
Philabundance reports need is up 29 percent this year over last, and has increased 98 percent over the past three years. Further, 62 percent of the 500 food pantries and neighborhood distribution centers it works with are having trouble providing enough food, and are either reducing rations or turning people away. Philabundance itself recently went through a dry-food shortage and had to look to neighboring agencies for assistance.
A turkey on Thanksgiving may help a family celebrate the holiday with dignity. It may even fill a news hole. But it's also a distraction from a gaping, growing need that can't be filled in a day.
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