Salvation Army distributes 2,000 turkeys as costs soar
Feast cost has spiked 37% since 2020
Dorchester resident Monalisa Campbell said the holidays are hard on her as a single parent of four children, as costs for electricity, gas and “everything” continue to go up due to inflation.
With Thanksgiving just days away, Campbell received a “blessing” on Saturday when she secured a turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, carrots, stuffing and a tray for the bird during holiday-meal distribution at Salvation Army’s Kroc Community Center in her neighborhood.
“I want to feed my family what Thanksgiving is all about — the turkey, the stuffing,” said Campbell, who stopped by the distribution with her young daughter Calissa. “You want to be able to give your family the original Thanksgiving dinner and not feel like you are slighted or (don’t) have enough. This is a blessing.”
Though the COVID-19 pandemic is not as major of a hindrance as the past two years, inflation is taking a toll on city residents, Major Elvie Carter said. The Salvation Army has seen a 50% increase in residents requesting support, he said.
That’s why this year’s Thanksgiving meal distributions are critical.
The average cost of this year’s classic Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people will be $64.05, which is a 20% jump from last year’s average of $53.31, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey released on Wednesday.
The Thanksgiving feast cost has spiked 37% since 2020’s dinner price of $46.90.
Turkey costs are up 21% on average — $28.96 for a 16-pound bird, or $1.81 per pound.
The Farm Bureau cited general inflation as “a significant factor contributing to the increase in average cost of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner.” Inflation has been running 7% to 9% in recent months
Securing enough turkeys proved more of a challenge this year than in the past due to a turkey shortage, Carter said. But through partnerships with local farms and supermarkets, the Salvation Army secured more than 2,000 turkeys that it handed out at the Kroc Center and South End Corps.
Another 200 turkeys were distributed to the Veterans Administration in Brockton and Jamaica Plain early Saturday, while thousands more will be given out at Salvation Army locations across the state, said Heather MacFarlane, the agency’s director of communications for Massachusetts.
Some communities are giving out gift cards with a bag of all the fixings because they couldn’t get turkeys
due to the shortage, MacFarlane said.
The Salvation Army’s Chelsea Corps will also be giving out additional Thanksgiving meals
through its food pantry on Chestnut Street, starting Monday at 10 a.m.
No one who comes and is in need of meal assistance will be turned away,
Carter said. If the agency is short on a specific item, it will double up on another, he said.
“Folks continue to come in and they have to make
sacrifices: ‘Do I keep warm, or do I have something to eat?,’” Carter said. “Having this opportunity at least alleviates a small portion of someone’s worry.”