
Brooklynites give (and get) back at Kings Theatre, where one of countless
holiday food drives took place this Thanksgiving. Photo by Arthur de Gaeta
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COURIER LIFE, DECEMBER 3-9, 2021 3
BY BEN BRACHFELD
The second pandemic-era
Thanksgiving has come and
gone, and many Brooklynites
are beginning to emerge from
their food comas to return to
the groove of daily life. But the
holiday can be a painful time
for the one in fi ve New Yorkers
facing food insecurity, unable
to afford a bountiful Turkey
Day meal.
In true Kings County fashion,
however, Brooklynites
stepped up over the holiday
weekend to ensure that everyone
who wanted a Thanksgiving
meal could get one.
Before Thursday rolled
around, nonprofi ts and charitable
Brooklynites gave away
thousands of turkeys to ensure
no one celebrated Thanksgiving
on an empty stomach. Reaching
Out Community Services
gave away over 900 turkeys at
its annual Operation Gobbler
Giving event on Nov. 22, outside
its food pantry on New Utrecht
Avenue in Bensonhurst.
“It’s just to allow everybody
to kind of join the rest of us as
we sit with our family and have
a turkey dinner and a little feast
to make things a little more
cheerful for the holiday,” said
Reaching Out executive director
Tom Neve in a video from
the event posted on YouTube.
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes
said at Operation Gobbler
Giving that the giveaway
helped make hundreds of families
whole at their dinner table.
“We’re gonna make hundreds
of families very happy
this Thanksgiving when they
sit down to have their holiday
meal,” Gounardes said. “This
is a very tough time for a lot
of folks in our neighborhood.
If you have the ability to give
back in some way, please do.”
Bay Ridge Cares, a nonprofi t
in the neighborhood of the same
name, gave away 552 Thanksgiving
meals to food-insecure
neighbors in Bay Ridge, Dyker
Heights, and Bensonhurst, according
to the group’s president
Karen Tadross. At Fort
Hamilton, the Salaam Club of
New York gave away hundreds
of turkeys to troops on the base
as a measure of gratitude. And
vegetarian Bay Ridge Councilmember
Justin Brannan, a
candidate for Council speaker,
distributed vegan Thanksgiving
meals to residents who do
not eat meat.
“It’s become kind of a cool
tradition,” the pol said in a
video posted to his Facebook
page. “We always fi nd that
mainly carnivores come out
just to try it out and see that another
world is possible, and see
that there’s so many healthy
nutritious and carni-free alternatives
out there if you choose
not to eat meat that’s good for
your soul, and it’s good for the
planet.”
The giving of thanks did
not stop there. Masbia, a kosher
soup kitchen with locations
in Borough Park and
Flatbush, served meals on
Turkey Day to residents of a
building on Lenox Road in
Flatbush, where a recent fi re
has left many residents displaced
and all without cooking
gas. The group was joined
by Councilmember-elect Rita
Joseph.
“Very glad that the community
was able to rally around
our neighbors at 222 Lenox
Road, who recently suffered
a major fi re,” Joseph wrote
on Twitter. “Many thanks to
Masbia for spearheading the
efforts to provide Thanksgiving
meals!”
The Kings Theatre on Flatbush
Avenue held its annual
Thanksgiving Day luncheon
on Thursday, with hundreds
of Brooklynites fi ling in to get
a free Thanksgiving meal.
And Brooklyn Nets superstar
James Harden joined
Councilmember-elect Lincoln
Restler and the North Brooklyn
Angels in Greenpoint to
distribute over 400 meals on
Turkey Day.
“I want to wish everyone
a happy Thanksgiving,” the
Beard said at the giveaway. “I
hope you guys enjoy your day,
get some good food, and being
with your family.”
Thankful Bklyn
Turkey Day giveaways feed families across boro
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