A mystery man in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania has delivered Thanksgiving meal preparations for 150 families in the borough of Ambler, local officials report.
It is the ninth year in a row this unknown donor has helped needy Pennsylvania families.
The donor, who has remained anonymous for almost a decade, told Philadelphia’s Fox 29, “We started the first year in 2008 with 30 families… this year we’re at 150 families, 3,000 pounds of turkey, $22,000 worth of groceries.”
This year’s meals were donated to the Kelly Anne Dolan Memorial Fund, an effort which serves underprivileged families, many with sick children.
Mary Berlin, a worker at n Easter Seals school in Lansdale, was thrilled with the donations when she came by the Wissahickon Fire Company in Ambler to pick up some of the meals.
“It means everything to them,” she said of the needy families she serves. “Otherwise, they’d be going to a soup kitchen… this way they can actually have a really nice dinner at home with their kids.”
Thanksgiving and Christmas are ideal times to donate to a local food bank to help those in need. But needy families need help all year around. If you would like to help, you can find a local food bank near you at the Feeding America food bank search site or a similar search tool hosted by AmpleHarvest.org. And don’t forget your local church as every church has groups they work with, as well.
Also, if you are interested in donating actual foodstuffs yourself, instead of money, here is a list of items that all food banks really need:
- Boxed 100% juice drinks
- Holiday foods like stuffing mix, or canned yams and cranberry sauce
- Low sodium vegetables
- Canned tuna, salmon, or chicken
- Unsalted peanuts, cashews, or mixed nuts
- No sugar added fruit cups
- Shelf-stable packaged powdered milk
- Pastas
- Canned soups
- Boxed brown rice
- Boxed oatmeal packets
- Canola or olive oil
- Peanut butter
- Canned beans
- Boxed low sugar cereals
- Granola bars
- Popcorn
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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