Thousands Of Free Turkeys Fly

At Thanksgiving giveaways in Dixwell, West River, the Hill; hunger rampant amid pandemic.

That was the result of an event held Monday afternoon outside the police substation at 26 Charles St. behind Dixwell Plaza.

The free turkeys also went fast at giveaways held Monday at Barnard School and Tuesday at John C. Daniels School on Congress Avenue; the latter event shut down hours early as supplies vanished, leaving hungry families with no food to bring home.

Kingdom International Economic Development Corporation (KIEDC) organized the event with the help of local police and other officials as part of an ongoing effort to feed hungry families during the pandemic.

Volunteers started packaging the boxes of cans and veggies Monday at 6 a.m.

Amanda Waite picked up a turkey Monday after seeing a flyer on Facebook about the event. ​“God told me about this. I was just on my knees this morning praying to figure out how I was going to do Thanksgiving this year,” she said.

Waite got help from her two sons. Quinton, 7, carried the turkey while older brother Amir, 13, put a box of non-perishables in his little sister’s baby stroller. Amir pushed the stroller alongside Waite, who carried her 1‑year-old daughter.

Waite and her family were financially struggling before the pandemic. Things have only gotten worse, she said. Waite said her landlord has been letting her pay her rent late since May because of her struggle as a single mom of three. ​“I work when I can, but it’s hard finding someone to stay with the kids. No one wants to stay at your house with Covid going around,” she said. Waite said she has no time to keep up with her kids’ schooling but trusts that they are going to their classes online.

Waite said she is relieved that she was able to get the Thanksgiving food so her kids can ​“not worry about mommy for once” and enjoy the holiday. Quinton said he plans to help his mom cook on Thursday.

Before leaving, KIEDC founder Metashar Dillion gave Waite two extra chickens for her family to have later in the week.

The holiday giveback drew together a diverse volunteer group of locals on a mission to serve the community, including Melissa Marici of Candlewood Valley Health & Rehabilitation, Amy Stefanowski, fire union President Patrick Cannon, Newhallville/Prospect Hill Alder Steven Winter, Lt. Troy Frost, fire union Vice-President Daniel Del Prete, community advocate Eric Mastroianni, and attorney Andrew Giering.

This turkey drive was one of many that will happen throughout the week to assist families in-need of a holiday meal.

Chase Dillion, 11, joined the team distributing the food Monday. ​“When I help them, it helps me,” he said. While loading cars, Dillion reminded drivers to wear a mask and to roll up their windows.

Volunteers took a brief break to greet ​“Santa,” better known as Pastor Troy McNulty. McNulty stopped by to pick up a turkey for a friend and single mom in Waterbury after seeing volunteers post about the event on Facebook.

Teens Duidone Minis, 17, Angel Claxton, 16, and Angelic Santiago, 17, stopped to take a picture with McNulty. The trio agreed that although Thanksgiving will come with some adjustments this year, they are looking forward to spending time with their families and forgetting about ​“Covid bullshit.”

Turkey donations are still being accepted for a scheduled second day of the event Tuesday afternoon to meet the growing demand.

“They told everyone to get out and vote, and now we’re hungry for change,” said Dillion. ​“New Haven needs to have the same energy for this like it did for voting. We’re trying to feed our people.”

During the distribution Pat Solomon and Jose Romero (pictured) worked together receiving hundreds of calls from New Haveners, providing them with directions to the giveaway and translating the flyer information to Spanish for some.

West River Comes Through, Too

Also on Monday, 55 West River residents gathered at Barnard Environment Studies Interdistrict Magnet School to pick up a free turkey each and non-perishables for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

Ice The Beef President Chaz Carmon helped plan the event in collaboration with Ice the Beef for its annual turkey drive.

Each elementary and middle-school teacher picked two students’ families to give the turkeys to. Word got out about the giveaway by 11 a.m., and neighbors of the school began coming in hopes of getting a turkey for the holidays.

“We know some of these families are having to pick between buying actual food for the week or one turkey,” Carmon said refusing to turn any visitors away.

“We want our families to feel supported even when educaton isn’t in-person,” said Assistant Principal Cassandra Thomas.

“Ms. L.D,” whose great grandson attends Barnard, picked up a turkey on Monday for a downsized Thanksgiving dinner this year. ​“It’s still going to be awesome because we’re going to use Facetime and Zoom till we can’t no more,” she said. ​“Six feet apart is better than six feet deep.”

Ms. L.D is a medical frontline worker who, although overwhelmed by the Covid pandemic, works to keep hers and her families spirits high.

Carmon received help from his son Robert, who during remote learning breaks helped to pack the bags of non-perishables and serve the families.

Then the team rolled the cart through the hallways and to the school’s front doors to hand off to families.

“As an environmental school we teach about life. Preserving and caring for it. Feeding our community is a part of that mission,” Carmon said.

Carmon works with Barnard’s In School Solutions program. He works with the school administration to push for the use of restorative practices with students who may act out in result of problems at home.

During the pandemic, Carmon’s work continues virtually and with home visits. Teachers reach out to Carmon when it seems that a student may be troubled in class. To address the issue, he joins the student in a virtual break-out room to talk out issues or makes a visit home if the problem is technological. ​“If that’s not working, I knock on their door and figure out what’s up, and sometimes it doesn’t just take one visit,” he said. Carmon has sat on many front porches with families helping them set up provided wifi boxes and laptops.

“It’s not about taking the student out of class and punishing them anymore. We figure out the problem so we can get them back in class and focused,” he said.

The Barnard drive was sponsored by Ice the Beef, New England Brewing Co., and Newhallville Community Action Network, which helped provide the holiday meals. 

Badria Alli picked up a turkey after being called by one of her four children’s teachers. A mother of five, Alli said this year’s Thanksgiving meal will be shared by only those she lives with.

“Especially during this pandemic our families deserve something special,” said Principal Robert McCain. ​“It’s our job to take care of our families.”

Claudia Rojas visited the school Monday to pick up a pack of school work for her second grader. She also left with a turkey. Rojas said her Thanksgiving won’t be too different this year because she only has a family of four. ​“Smaller is safer,” she said.

Ice the Beef also gave out dozens of turkeys in the Brookside development as well on Monday, bringing the total to 115.