Last Days To Donate Grocery List To "Turkey On Every Table" From Key Food, Salem Tabernacle, I Am Beacon

The “Turkey on Every Table” initiative from I Am Beacon, Key Food, and Salem Tabernacle has opened for collection again, hoping to reach families as it did last year. Created in 2014 by I Am Beacon, the three organizations came together last year during the pandemic when soup kitchens could not operate, and pre-packaged and delivered bags of dinner meals for people to cook.

Said Ginger Dandreano, Administrative Assistant for Salem Tabernacle when ALBB asked how the distribution will work: “All the food will come already packaged in a grocery bag. The idea is to make this as easy for people as possible, especially for those who may be walking. The bag will consist of a full Thanksgiving dinner.”

Pickup points will be Salem Tabernacle (7 Delavan Ave), Open Arms Food Pantry (based at Beacon’s Recreation Department at 25 Center Street) in Beacon, NY.

How The Organizations Coordinate The Food Giving

Ginger elaborated to ALBB: “The turkeys are being purchased by Salem Tabernacle. Salem Tabernacle does a yearly fundraiser that raises money for this outreach. So far this year, $5,000 has been raised. Key Food in Beacon also contributes with a fundraiser that helps offset the cost. Salem Tabernacle purchases the food from Key Food at cost. I Am Beacon also promotes the Key Food fundraiser and creates awareness amongst the community. I Am Beacon also has provided the connections with Open Arms Food Pantry and St. Andrews. Key Food is a generous, community oriented store that makes this complicated process much easier. They get the food at cost and also refrigerate the food up until the day of distribution. I Am Beacon and Key Food truly make this possible.”

How People In Need Can Sign Up For The Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Dinner Signup at Salem Tabernacle.

Families or Friends can call Salem Tabernacle at 845-831-0114 Mon-Th from 10am-3:30pm. They can also go to www.salemtabernacle.com and follow the prompts to sign up (or click here directly). You can sign up yourself or sign up a family in need. Available while supplies last, but you must sign up. Their goal is to feed 100 families this year.

This year the drive is heating up again, with collections being made at Key Food at checkout. You can specify that your donation of food or cash/credit card be for this project at the checkout counter. Volunteer opportunities are available with Salem Tabernacle for those looking to pack bags, deliver them to destinations, and facilitate getting them into hands.

Requested Items Include:

Peanut Butter Jars, Jelly Jars, 16-Pack hot Chocolate Mixes, Canned Yams, Mac and Cheese Boxes, Stuffing Boxes, 1LB Rice Bags, 14OZ Canned Vegetables, 3LB Apple Bags, Baked Pies, Reusable Grocery Bags

People Working With The Organizations

I Am Beacon is run by brother and sister Rueben Simmons, Brook Simmons, and Brandon Lillard. Open Arms Food Pantry is managed by Kenya Gadsen, who served on Beacon’s Board of Education years ago and was of the few Black board members serving. Kenya moved to Fishkill, and currently serves as an elected Councilwoman for the Town of Fishkill. Key Food is a franchise run by the Dabashi and Said families.

Turkey On Many Tables - 3 Organizations Came Together To Distribute 100 Turkeys To Families

Thanksgiving 2020 was here all of a sudden, and many people were making their usual rounds to hit the grocery stores, as well as food pantries. In non-pandemic times, soup kitchens tend to cook a meal for a designated group of people, like seniors that the Salvation Army of Beacon usually cooks for, but could not host anyone this year, but still managed to help families get meals for Thanksgiving. They will do so again for Christmas (donations for that effort can be accessed by texting rescuechristmas to 91999, where Captain Leilani Rodríguez-Alarcón, Corps Officer / Pastor is in receipt of the donations, or contact Leilani.Alarcon@use.salvationarmy.org).

At the food pantry at St. Andrews Church, who collects and distributes non-perishable items, an unexpected call came from this united group of 3 organizations to donate 25 turkeys to the regular participants of that church’s pantry. I Am Beacon, Key Food Beacon, and Salem Tabernacle teamed up to raise money and distribute the turkeys to families using their local channels, with a goal of reaching 100 families.

Starting in 2014, I Am Beacon started doing the program called Turkey On Every Table to use their community connections to find those in need, and raise the money to deliver. Large organizations are important, but often local, grass-roots organizations have boots on the ground with friends and relatives getting first-hand information on what people need during any time - pandemic or not.

This year, the three organizations teamed up. Says I Am Beacon’s founder, Reuben Simmons: “We worked in a collaborative effort on raising money for the food asked for on our list, packing the bags, and making the deliveries. Salem Tabernacle scheduled a pick-up at their church.”

Pat Lassiter, longtime Food Pantry Manager for St. Andrews Church that opens its doors to residents of Beacon on Saturday mornings, was pleased when she received a call from Reuben, that the group would be donating 25 turkeys to people who come to get food from St. Andrews Food Pantry that Saturday.

Some members in the group who organized the Turkey on Every Table: I Am Beacon, Key Food Beacon, Salem Tabernacle.
Photo Credit: Key Food Beacon

Says Reuben: “I Am Beacon used their network to identify a couple of outlets to also distribute the program through. We worked with Mrs. Lassiter from St. Andrews pantry located on South Avenue, and Kenya Gadsen to distribute to families through Opens Arms Ministry at the Beacon Recreation Center at 23 West Center’s Food Pantry.” Due to state funding requirements, St. Andrews needs to limit giving to Beaconites only, and the Open Arms Ministry at Beacon Recreation Center is open to anyone, regardless of residency.

After hearing of Pat’s appreciation for the gift of turkeys, Reuben replied: “I am happy to hear it all worked out that day. She has been doing an amazing job for many, many years with so many amazing volunteers.”

How To Get Involved

To get involved with any of these organizations, you can donate to food donations bins periodically at Key Food, and follow along on a more personal level with I Am Beacon’s podcast on Spotify. I Am Beacon will be gearing up for Membership 2021, and will be moving forward to a non-voting membership organization in 2021.

To get familiar with all of the Food Pantries in Beacon and how they work, see A Little Beacon Blog’s Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen Guide. There are volunteer opportunities with several organizations listed there. You can call them directly for inquiries, or see their websites (if they have one) for published volunteer opportunities. Directions on how to donate to them are published in that Guide as well.

Happy Thanksgiving 2018

Happy Thanksgiving.

Enjoy the quiet, the laughter, the unplugged, the family, the friends, the neighbors.

Last year’s blog post made a suggestion to tell someone unexpected why you are thankful for them. Someone not in your every day life. It’s a neat assignment, if you were to try to do it.

This year, there is a lot to be grateful for, but I’ll say that I’m grateful for the ability to step outside my house and onto the sidewalk or into any shop, where I’m bound to run into a friend who I haven’t seen in real life for a while. Usually it changes the day for the better, or helps reshape how I was thinking about something, and I’m grateful for those moments.

What or who are you thankful for?

PS: The photo in this blog post was taken inside of the shop Raven Rose on Main Street on the east end of town near the mountain. The owner, Courtney, always has the prettiest windows and unusual flower selections for a wild bouquet, including several tall dried flowers. I’m thankful for those snippets of beauty.