Middle School FutureActs Advisors Team for Thanksgiving Meal Distributions
Learning that COVID-19 had altered the normal “Gobble Up Hunger” food drive that is hosted annually by the Washington Township Public Schools’ Middle School FutureActs Clubs, local food pantry directors decided to enlist the expertise of the clubs advisors to pull off a community Thanksgiving celebration in a different way.
Randy Carbone and Drew Jackson, co-directors of Mother’s Cupboard in Washington Township, connected with Heather Finn, Katelyn Haughey, Kim Hinrichs and Maddy Kubik and brainstormed an idea to replace Thanksgiving baskets of dinner staples with actual Thanksgiving take-out meals.
“Randy reached out to Williamstown Rotarian Rocco Galleli at Innovative Catering Concepts and The Estate at Monroe, and he loved the idea and involved the Williamstown Rotary,” Kubik said. “Although our middle school student volunteers will not be present on the day of the event, they will be there in spirit and will be gifting families with a turkey craft that worked on for the event.”
With food donations from both communities, Galleli and his kitchen staff will be cooking approximately 1,600 meals for pickup at The Estate of Monroe from 3-6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, 2020. Most meals will be picked up in a drive-through service, but deliveries will be made to families who do not have access to transportation. Approximately 500 meals will be prepared for Washington Township residents. The remaining meals will be distributed to the Cathy Megee Memorial Meals Program and Williamstown residents.
“The middle-level FutureAct advisors are very grateful to continue the tradition of providing meals to needy families on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, “Kubik said. “We would like to thank Randy Carbone for organizing this event, Rocco Galleli for preparing meals, Duffield's Farmer's Market for fresh produce, and numerous community members for generous donations.”
For additional information, please contact Maddy Kubik at mkubik@wtps.org.