BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Comfort food.
New Bethany was offering a bit of comfort pre-Thanksgiving for those interested in an armful of holiday food during a giveaway on Wednesday afternoon.
Some pulled up and hopped out of their cars for their food — which included a boxed holiday turkey, along with green beans, corn, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes.
Others walked by, grabbed their food and were on their way.
“It’s all about bringing people together."Kyle Kleintop, on the holidays
More than a dozen people stood in line during the first half-hour, but the pace slowed down closer to the one-hour mark.
“It’s all about bringing people together,” Kyle Kleintop said of the holidays. He said his favorite food this time of year is turkey.
One man, asked to be identified as Macky, said that even though he’s facing hard times, the food “will bring a little life to the party.”
He said his favorite holiday food is hot bacon dressing on salad.
For Bobby Johnson, pumpkin pie is a must-have for Thanksgiving. But sweet potato pie is his preference if there are marshmallows, he said.
The three said they looked forward to watching football this week, especially the Philadelphia Eagles, set to play the Chicago Bears on Black Friday.
"Without people’s kindness, you wouldn’t be able to do anything.”New Bethany Food Access Director Brandy Garofalo
The holiday birds came from a collaboration of the nonprofit’s board of directors, private donations and an annual turkey drive with corporate partners.
“We must have taken in more than 100, one turkey at a time, just from people being kind,” New Bethany Food Access Director Brandy Garofalo said.
“Without people’s kindness, you wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
'Find some community'
Answering questions seemingly from all sides during the holiday chaos Wednesday, Garofalo said New Bethany looks to give away 370 or more turkeys over the course of four days.
The nonprofit fighting poverty, hunger and homelessness is saving a dozen of the turkeys for a Thanksgiving Day meal from noon to 1 p.m. at Wyandotte and West Third streets.
Garofalo said she expected about 100 people to come, though everyone’s welcome to show up “to find some community.”
As for the giveaway, which had a line wrapped around to nearby Wyandotte Street on its first day Friday, Garofalo said every corporate group, school and church seemed to have a food drive lately that helped the holiday cause.
For example, she said the Boy Scouts food drive brought in 7,500 pounds of food.
And people looking to volunteer are "at an unprecedented high,” she said.
Freedom High School students were among those who helped bag the food given away Wednesday, going through donations to pull out Thanksgiving vittles and setting aside the rest for distribution at the New Bethany food pantry.
Mentioning federal budget uncertainty and cost-of-living increases, Garofalo said, “I was pleasantly surprised that in the middle of a crisis that people came through even harder.”
She said in-demand goods for New Bethany include canned proteins and meat, and dairy products, such as eggs, milk and butter.
