By JEFF EPSTEIN
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — More than 30 middle and high school students converged on the Claremont Soup Kitchen Monday to deliver 130 turkeys weighing about 2,000 pounds to the community dining center.
The soup kitchen already previously served its Thanksgiving dinner last Thursday, and will not be serving on Thanksgiving day. Instead, the turkeys will be used for the soup kitchen’s Christmas dinner (including a visit from Santa) on Dec. 20, from 4 – 5:30 p.m.
Students delivering the turkeys came from Stevens High School’s Key Club, an affiliate of the Kiwanis Club, and from Claremont Middle School’s Builders Club and the school’s student council. Those two groups also worked together last week to collect nonperishable goods, a teacher with the group said.
The turkeys were delivered in boxes holding four each, making them fairly heavy. At least two students hauled each box in most cases. The boxes were brought down into the soup kitchen’s holding facility, for later unpacking into freezers.
The students made short work of their task, offloading two trucks in about half an hour.
The next event for the soup kitchen is participating in the “Giving Tuesday” day of service on Nov. 27, holding a “Stuff-a-Truck” event sponsored by McGee Toyota, a local auto dealership. Details for that event are not yet final but will be announced soon, according to the soup kitchen’s staff.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.