Thanks to donations from Bristol Hospital’s medical staff and the help of the hospital’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, nearly 200 area families in need will have a Thanksgiving meal.
Staff from WIC, located on Prospect Street, packaged up the food bags Thursday and provided them to about 180 families in Bristol, Southington, Plainville, Farmington, Plymouth and other towns. The food supplies for the bags - which included a recipe book and ingredients for things like a cranberry dish, a green bean casserole, stuffing, sweet bread, a yam casserole, a $20 gift card for a turkey and ingredients for other dishes - were made possible by the more than $9,200 in donations made by Bristol Hospital’s medical staff.
“No way,” said Sarah Guerette, program nutritionist at WIC, when asked if the program could hold the Thanksgiving food drive without the donation.
“With our budget, there’s no way we could do it,” continued Guerette, who has participated in this event eight times.
Guerette said about 180 families had signed up for Thanksgiving food bags, and that WIC usually sees about a 90 percent pick-up rate. Whatever doesn’t get immediately picked up is given to families who are on a standby list, she said.
“They get really excited about this,” Guerette said of the families when they see a bag full of supplies that will allow them to have a Thanksgiving meal.
“This is a really tough time of year for a lot of people. There’s a lot to do, and it’s nice to at least take one thing off their plate. We work really closely with the families that get the bags, so it’s nice to see them in a less formal atmosphere.”
WIC is a supplemental cost-effective nutrition intervention program available for eligible women, infants and children up to the age of five, according to its website. The program is designed to promote health and prevent nutrition related health problems by providing nutrition education, breastfeeding information and support.
WIC also provides referrals to other federal and state programs and healthcare providers, as well as providing supplemental nutritious foods, the website continued. Bristol Hospital has been organizing the Thanksgiving food drive event since 1992.
The families who received food bags are always very grateful, Guerette said. In the past, they have all signed a thank-you card for the medical staff that donated. This year, they can take to Facebook to thank the doctors, Guerette said.