Food Bank Receives 12,000 Pounds in Turkeys

The donation was given to the Blue Ridge through Giant Food of Landover, Maryland.

“Giant Corp. supermarket folks have donated a 1,000 turkeys. It’s the largest donation of turkeys this year, thus far. What’s happened is that the price of turkeys has gone up,” Zippin said. “Last year, we paid 79 cents a pound, this year it’s a minimum of $1.25 because the price of animal feed has gone up dramatically. The price of corn has gone up. Due to the drought ... supply and demand.”

“There will be 1,000 people who will have a turkey for Thanksgiving,” Zippin said. “If you think about what I’m going to enjoy on Thanksgiving or what you might be enjoying on Thanksgiving, imagine someone who doesn’t have anything to eat on Thanksgiving. It’s a feel-good feeling."

The turkeys will go to church pantries, soup kitchens, Salvation Armies,” Zippin said. “We distribute these throughout our networks which ranges from Winchester to Lynchburg and from Charlottesville to right here in the Valley. We give it out proportionally, depending on the number of people who are hungry.”

This donation marks the first of five donation stops Giant Food is doing for Feeding America food banks across the mid-Atlantic region, Jones said.  Other stops include Capital Area Food Bank, Maryland Food Bank, Fredericksburg Area Food Bank and the Food Bank of Delaware.

Giant Food will be delivering 5,000 turkeys to help feed thousands in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Delaware.

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