When locals were asked to help stock up on turkeys for the holiday season, they not only stepped up, but did so in the rain. Under soggy conditions, Thursday’s annual community High Five Turkey Drive held at Nissan Carson City brought donations of 131 turkeys and nearly $2,500 between the event and online giving, according to Friends in Service Helping, also known as FISH.
Along with the cash added to the turkeys donated, including a matching donation from Nissan Carson City, FISH will have around 532 turkeys so far for this upcoming holiday season. The donations are used for food baskets to be given to families in need for Thanksgiving and Christmas, along with 50 turkeys for the annual Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday at The Plaza Conference Center in Carson City.
“Because we don’t rely on the government for funding, all of the services we provide are based on the community that supports us,” said Jim Peckham, executive director of FISH. “Partnering with Nissan Carson City and with KKFT 99.1 FM who got the word out, we’ll be able to provide Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets for local families.”
With recent disruptions to food programs, individuals and families are experiencing greater need than ever, said Peckham. While the SNAP benefits have been restored, recipients of the program do have to reapply and this process takes time.
“At FISH, we’ve seen a significant rise in new clients since the onset of the government shutdown, and that increase has continued — even as some programs begin to come back online. The demand for support is higher than we’ve seen in years,” said Peckham.
What makes FISH different is that it has a program as opposed to just a direct service, said Peckham.
“We have a program to stabilize people and then provide them mental health and life skills training to help them become more self-sufficient,” he said.
FISH is accepting both food and money donations for its food pantry and programs. Food donations can be taken to FISH directly at 138 East Long Street. The food donations help fill the pantry. FISH does prefer money donations as it helps them stock areas of the pantry when they are running low on specific items.
“This helps because often we’ll have a large supply of a certain kind of food item such as macaroni and cheese and we’ll run low on things like peanut butter. We need them both of course. The monetary donations help us fill in the gap,” said Peckham.
Donations can be made online at www.nvfish.com. For questions call 775-882-3474.
Community Thanksgiving Dinner at The Plaza Conference Center
The annual Carson City Community Thanksgiving dinner is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 27 at The Plaza Conference Center, 211 E. Ninth Street, Carson City.
The community along with all in need are invited to join this dinner which includes a full turkey dinner, sides, desserts, and a beverage. Turkeys are donated by the community and cooked up by The Bus Boy Mobile Cuisine along with other side dishes that round out this community Thanksgiving dinner.
This event is part of the Season of Giving in Carson City. Want to learn more about how you can give back this holiday season to your community? Visit our Season of Giving main hub below!
