DENVER — Saturday morning, thousands of Coloradans will receive Thanksgiving meal boxes from the 23rd annual Denver-Feed-A-Family distribution event.
The event is in honor of Bruce Randolph, also known as, Daddy Bruce.
“This is carrying on the legacy,” said Executive Director of the Epworth Foundation, Xiomara Yanique.
“He [Daddy Bruce] believed that every family should have a hot meal on Thanksgiving,” she added.
“More importantly, he believed people should be in community, and by us coming together, we will be able to embody that community spirit and be able to enjoy”.
However, this year things look different than usual for the distribution event.
“Normally, we always feed a minimum of 5,000 families. We had to cut this year to 2,500 families,” said Yanique.
“With the government shutdown and the SNAP benefits, we already know food has been limited. So, that's why it really hurt us to be able having to have cut, you know, our basket count from 5,000 to 2,500. We know that there are families that are going to show up tomorrow [Saturday] that we're not going to be able to feed.”
She said the decrease in meals is due largely to funding cuts that had to be made.
Baskets this year also won’t have all the staples that families usually get. Some of those items include macaroni and cheese, candy yams, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce.
“People are still going to get something,” she emphasized.
“It may not be everything, but they're still going to get something where they will still be able to use that to be able to make their Thanksgiving meal”.
Last year, Yanique says the distribution gave out 7,500 baskets which put them in a deficit at the beginning of this year of over $300,000.
“We had to spend the beginning, first half of the year just really trying to get out of that debt,” she said.
And that’s why she is calling on the community to help.
“This event is powered by our community. If everyone in our community gives just $5 and asks three people to give $5 and ask three more people to give $5 we would be able to feed our community and beyond”.
Despite the obstacle, Yanique is determined to keep the spirit and legacy of Daddy Bruce alive this year, saying Saturday is all about community.
“It feels like a family reunion,” she exclaimed.
“There are people that we don't see we see them once a year, and it's like, oh my goodness, I hadn't seen you since last year, and we come together because at the end of the day, that's what it's all about”.
Families had to be nominated for this year’s 2,500 Thanksgiving baskets. All baskets have already been claimed. Families have up until 12:00 p.m. to collect their items, and at 1:00 p.m., those waiting in line can get those baskets on a first come first serve basis.
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