Giving Back On Thanksgiving

  Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year. That is, if you are not a turkey or in need of food but this year, things may change. 

  Our residents are working hard to provide food for the needy.  Homestead is striving to be a very humane community.

  The Chapman Partnership for the Homeless will be joined by local police officers and military who will serve the meal to the residents on Thanksgiving Day.

  Sharon Haxton of Chapman said, “Thanksgiving is a special holiday for our 300 residents here at Chapman Partnership. For the past 14 years, about three dozen Miami Dade police officers from the South District come out, with their families, to serve lunch to our homeless residents seated at tables in our dining facility decorated for Thanksgiving. Local residents help with food donations, and we always need volunteers to help, all year long, not just during the holidays, for our meal program and to bring activities to our 100 children. Our Thanksgiving meal is dedicated to us by the Police, so when you see a police officer, thank him/her for their service, on the streets and here at Chapman Partnership.”

  The Homestead Soup Kitchen located at 105 SW 3rd Avenue in Homestead will be serving Thanksgiving lunch on Wednesday the 26th to the needy. Director Juanita Smith said this week, “We’ll be here all day Tuesday cooking, baking and getting ready. We have almost everything we need and I know Lorraine Strano will be here Tuesday with all the corn and squash we need. The Kiwanis Club will be here to serve Thanksgiving Dinner all day. We will have enough to feed 250 people.”

  The Helping Hearts Ministry at Sacred Heart Catholic Church is in the process of collecting food items and will distribute them this weekend to over 160 families who applied for assistance. Jack Scott, chair of the ministry said, “I was worried about the amount of donations but our parish came through and brought a lot of bags of food this weekend so this helped a lot.” Homestead’s Neighborhood Walmart also provided the ministry with several baskets of can goods.

  The FirstUnitedMethodistChurch on Krome Ave. provides three days’ worth of groceries to 450-550 families each Saturday. “That’s more than 2,500 people weekly.” stated Bob Jensen, a volunteer. “We can use any food in family-sized packages and volunteers arrive at 8 a.m. at the back entrance on 6th Street to the last wing of the church, just before the playground.” explained Bob.

  Farm Share is one of the largest distributers of food to the needy in the entire area.

  “Food distribution, my goodness, this is what we do every day!” is how Jinny Botwin, Operations Manager for Farm Share’s statewide initiative, summed up what they do.

  “Monday through Friday we distribute food to over thirty agencies who then distribute it to their needy clients. On Friday and Saturdays we distribute directly to the public. I just got a call from the Farmer’s Market and our bins are over there now being filled to be distributed.” she explained. 

  There is also hope for the turkey, the signature dish most associated with the holiday.

  In recent years, farmers have made an effort to end turkey suffering.  This year, you can ensure your Thanksgiving turkey is Certified Humane®. Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC), the leading non-profit certification organization improving the lives of farm animals in food production, wants to encourage shoppers to only buy the Certified Humane® turkeys.

  The biggest barrier is that most turkey producers do not want to meet the space requirements for the turkeys. These turkeys are raised on farms where they can express their natural behaviors, flapping wings, moving freely and perch at night above the ground.

  Koch’s Turkey Farm located in Tamaqua, Pa. is nationally recognized as one of the largest “Certified Humane®” farms. In business since 1953, Koch’s has 45 turkey houses, a hatchery, and an all-natural feed mill. Their feed does not contain synthetic herbicides or pesticides and no animal by-products. Koch’s is a traditional family business as the parents, children and now the grandchildren work in the business.

  Whether in need of food or you are a turkey, things are looking up. Hopefully, all will have a very Happy Thanksgiving.