The District’s largest food pantry shut down its Thanksgiving turkey giveaway early for the first time in its 30-year history, after overwhelming demand raised tensions and safety concerns.
In 2019, about 10,000 families received a turkey and other groceries. In 2020 and 2021, Bread for the City electronically distributed gift cards worth $50 and $75, respectively, usable in bricks-and-mortar or online stores. This year, clients received a “holiday bundle” of turkey, other groceries and a $50 debit card.
The organization had anticipated about 12,000 households this year, but the enhanced offering, combined with increased economic hardship, resulted in long lines outside the centers, with clients standing in unseasonably cold weather for three to four hours, said Ashley Domm, Bread for the City’s head of advancement and chief development officer.
Domm said 1,200 to 1,500 people a day had come to the organization’s two centers, in Northwest and Southeast Washington. Many were seniors and people with disabilities. “The way it was going, we just couldn’t guarantee our staff’s safety and the safety of people in the lines, because our facility and our staffing weren’t built to handle so many people,” Domm said.So, on Thursday, the organization cut it off. Among the factors that contributed to the decision was an “intensity increase in the final days, heated words exchanged in line and directed toward our staff,” said George Jones, Bread for the City’s chief executive.
Clients reacted to the news on Facebook and Twitter, in English and Spanish. Many praised the program, and some said they were relieved they had gotten their turkeys before the cutoff. Several expressed indignation that a theft had occurred at a place that helps people in need.After increasing its supplies as demand rose, the organization was left with 3,000 undistributed turkeys, which Jones said would probably be distributed to other organizations holding giveaways.
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