Thanks4Giving Food Drive Held On Friday, Saturday

MILFORD, CT ? The goal of the 19th Annual Thanks4Giving Food Drive is to collect 350 frozen Turkey.

?Last year, we had 319 frozen turkeys, and our goal is to collect 350 this year,? Mike Olson said.

The annual Thanks4Giving Food Drive will occur Friday, Nov. 10, through Saturday, Nov. 11, at Wasson Field, 71 West Main St.

?We support 10 local charities, and we support around 300 Milford families,? Tom Mercaldo, Thanks4Giving Co-Chair, said.

Olson said people can drop off food between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday. Drop-offs can also be made Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at all local grocery chains.

The charities the Thanks4Giving Food Drive supports include Beth-El Shelter, Cornerstone Christian Center, The Store House Project, and more.

?The priority is feeding families in Milford,? Todd Munn, Thanks4Giving Co-Chair, said. ?We work with the town on the list of people, and they each get a large box of food and a Frozen turkey.?

During the food drive, Thanks4Giving is accepting non-perishable food donations and frozen turkeys.

?Those two things are our Number 1 need,? Munn said. ?People can drop them off at Wasson Field, 71 West St.?

Volunteers for this event are always needed, and for those who want to volunteer an entire day or a couple of hours, the best way is to go to the volunteer tent at Wasson Field.

?We are going to collect food from grocery stores on Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in every major supermarket in town,? Mike Olson said.

?When people come to the volunteer tent, they will check in, and from there, we will distribute the volunteers where we need them the most, either at the supermarkets or at the tents or other areas,? Munn added.

Munn said this year, they are trying a new direction of traffic flow.

?When people come in to drop off food or pick up their food if they?re one of the families, they will go different directions, and that way, we don?t have crisscross traffic,? he said.

As the Thanks4Giving Food Drive has grown, so has the community involvement and response.

?We have fantastic involvement from the schools and volunteer groups, including the Devon Rotary, Milford Rotary, Knights of Columbus and many more,? he said. ?Some of the churches come and help. It really is Milford helping Milford.?