BRISTOL – Bristol Hospital physicians donated money this fall and staff volunteered time Thursday so about 180 needy families in Greater Bristol can prepare full Thanksgiving meals.
For the 26th year in a row, the hospital’s medical staff organized the fundraiser to ensure that families can have turkey with vegetables, mashed potatoes, casseroles and sweetbreads.
“We give them nearly everything they need, and the recipes, too,” Sarah Guerette, a nutritionist with the Women, Infants and Children food program, said Thursday afternoon as she watched delivery workers bringing cartons of food into the WIC office on Prospect Street. “For the turkey, they get a $20 Stop and Shop gift card.”
Drivers wheeled in enormous cartons of canned corn, green beans and yams along with boxes of cocoa mix and other foods.
“We have the staples for Thanksgiving dinner—what they need for a green bean casserole, a yam casserole, stuffing, a pie,” Guerette said.
When the deliverieswere done, WIC staff and volunteers creating the food bags that needy families would be taking home. Theywent from table to table, loading one can and container from each bunch into the heavy-duty bags that would be distributed to WIC clients later in the day.
“The medical staff at the hospital, doctors from the Multi Specialty Group and our community doctors make the donations,” said Chris Boyle, the hospital’s communications director.
Dr. Dennis Ferguson, the former director of radiology, organizes the food drive each year. This fall, about 80 physicians donated a total of $9,200.
The tradition is for WIC staff and volunteers to use the money to buy bulk shipments of food, then sort it into individual bags to hand out to clients. BristolHospital’s WIC program serves about 5,000 people in central Connecticut.
“We know the holidays can be really challenging for our families,” Guerette said. “This just takes one thing off the plate — they can relax and enjoy the holiday.”