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It's turkey time again, and folks may find it difficult to secure a bird for groups to gobble this season.
Local community organizations such as the Salvation Army, Lighthouse Foundation, St. Wendelin Catholic School and All Saints Parish of Butler annually hold programs revolving around the traditional Thanksgiving meal. This year, with the nationwide shortage of turkeys, those programs could be affected significantly.
David Jones, of Jones Turkey Farm in Cabot, said the shortage of poultry and its increased price are due to a few factors.
“Corn has doubled in price this year, which is how we feed the turkeys,” Jones said. “The lack of help in harvesting the corn and processing the turkeys contributes too.”
Jones said he started getting Thanksgiving orders in the summer, which never happened previously. According to Jones, last year's customers were after smaller birds to feed smaller crowds. Now, there's a desire for turkeys as big as 25 pounds.
Jones has seen a lot of new customers due to the turkey shortage, but even if he sold every bird he raised he would make little profit.
“New customers have been telling me their previous turkey (supplier) went out of business or retired,” Jones said. “I raised more (turkeys) this year to take advantage of the shortage and it paid off ... I raised prices this year to help.”
Takeout turkey
Sue Cadwallader, who helps organize the Community Thanksgiving at St. Peter Roman Catholic Church on Franklin Street in Butler, part of All Saints Parish, said last year they fed 1,700 people a turkey dinner. According to Cadwallader, the event Nov. 25 will require 80 turkeys. “The turkeys are donated for the most part, and we'll purchase whatever is needed,” Cadwallader said.
More than 100 volunteers help prepare and deliver meals with all the trimmings on Thanksgiving Day. Cadwallader said the amount of people requesting a meal this holiday season can vary and only time will tell if the turkeys they have on hand will be enough.
Similarly, Portersville Food Pantry expects to feed 70 families this holiday by preparing baskets with canned goods, pies and rolls for the meal.
Cyndi Burns, who has been involved with the food pantry for 31 years, said they are providing gift cards in the baskets for families to pick out a turkey or meat of their choice.
“We give the baskets out a week early and tell people to put their order in advance at the store in case they have to wait,” Burns said.
Gobble gobble
Some organizations, such as St. Wendelin's and the Butler Salvation Army, will prepare turkey dinners that can be eaten in-house or for takeout.
Diana Foehringer, with the help of her husband, Bruce, is assisting with St. Wendelin's turkey dinner, from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, as a fundraiser for students' tuition assistance.
According to Foehringer, they fed 1,500 people last year with 70 turkeys, and could have served more if they hadn't run out. She said they're struggling to find ingredients needed to cook the Thanksgiving meal.
“Everything has gotten more expensive and hard to find,” Foehringer said. “Chicken base is really expensive; we had to buckle down and find some to make this happen.”
Foehringer said organizers have been planning the dinner for six weeks, purchasing their turkeys in advance from a local grocery store. They're seeking donations of cakes and pies.
Major Darlene Means of the Salvation Army said her group is expecting more than 100 people to attend a Thanksgiving dinner from 11:30 to 1 p.m. Nov. 24.
“Last year, we did only takeout, and our numbers were down a little,” Means said. “But we still had people waiting to come in.”
Means said they are seeking donations of Stove Top Stuffing, instant mashed potatoes, canned yams, rolls and dessert as well as turkeys.
“The bigger the better,” Means said of the turkeys.
How to help
For information on how to donate turkey and other resources, to volunteer, or to place an order at All Saints Parish, visit ButlerTurkeyDayFeast.com or call 724-427-4153.
For information on how to donate turkey and other resources to The Salvation Army, call 724- 287-5532.
For information on how to donate to St. Wendelin's Turkey Dinner, visit stwendelinschool.com
