TALKING TURKEY
Full Christmas dinners given out
More than 600 boxes filled with Christmas dinner fixings were given away for free in Leamington Saturday morning.
For the third year in a row, Mike and Deanna Diab organized the Talking Over Turkey event to distribute frozen turkeys and other holiday staples to anybody who wanted them, no questions asked. The husband and wife team’s goal was to bring people together and give them food so they can host their own festive feasts.
“Not everybody has that luxury of having the whole family together because there’s not enough food to go around,” said Deanna Diab, while watching a fast-moving line of people picking up boxes of ingredients.
“If they’re living by themselves, they can maybe invite a neighbour over who might be alone.”
“To us, Christmas is really important because it brings families together,” she added. “Our mothers always did turkeys for us, and everybody came running for that turkey. We decided we need people to get back to family, where they’re coming together and sharing a meal.”
The Diab family came up with the idea to give away turkeys after a stranger paid for their Tim Hortons order — two coffees — at a drive-thru as a random act of kindness around Christmas time in 2016. That motivated the Diabs to give away 50 turkeys that year to people nominated as deserving or in need by their friends online. The next year, with a few local businesses sponsoring their event, they gave away about 300 turkeys, bags of potatoes, and loaves of bread, again to people nominated.
This year, with about 40 sponsors and 45 volunteers, Mike and Deanna were able to give away 609 boxes, each containing a turkey, stuffing, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, bread, and beans. This time, there was no nomination process. Anyone who wanted a box of food, valued at $60, could take one. “If somebody feels they can benefit from a turkey, or they know somebody who could, they can have one,” Deanna said. “We like to think about benefit rather than need, because need is a very subjective term. We’re not saying it’s just financial. It’s also fellowship. They need to know there are other people out there thinking of them.” In addition to the food donations, private citizens gave the couple cash to fund the turkey drive, Deanna said.
“It’s the community that put it together for us,” Mike said, wearing a necklace made of Christmas lights. “They’re like-minded people. The spirit of giving is evident. We’re just happy to be able to launch it.”
Each year, the couple evaluate the event’s success, Deanna said. They know they want to continue to help the community, but the question on their minds is always how to reach more people. “My wife and I didn’t know that there were people in such need because we never really looked. What I regret is not starting this 20 years ago, trying to reach out and see where the need is.”