It’s a non-traditional shopping trip for a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
"I was a little hesitant, because I wondered if I was taking away from a family that needed it, said Tina Patrick of Anchorage. “You know I'm not that down and out, but then again I don't have a turkey in my freezer."
Patrick will have one in her freezer thanks to the Thanksgiving Blessing, a program sponsored by the Food Bank of Alaska. Patrick gave up her job so she could attend nursing school, but she didn’t want to give up a Thanksgiving meal for her mother and daughter.
"We're living in hard times, and the economy is what it is right now,” said Patrick. “There's a lot of people who don't have jobs."
This is the 6th year St. Patrick's Church has participated in the Thanksgiving Blessing, but they've been helping needy families prepare for thanksgiving for 25 years. On Monday, volunteers handed out turkeys, beans, stuffing and everything else needed for a complete dinner.
"I can truly say that as I look into the eyes of most everyone that comes through the door, it's an opportunity to show them that the community as a whole cares, and that we're here to help them, said Parishioner Dave Patterson.”
Patterson estimates his church served 1,300 families Monday.
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