It’s time for an annual tradition that ensures everyone has a turkey or ham on their table for Christmas.
The Sue Stultz and Moncton Firefighters Turkey drive begins tomorrow down back at the St. George Boulevard fire station.
Firefighter Jeremy Quillian says they’ll be accepting more than just turkeys this year.
“We will be accepting turkey loaves as well as ham. The reason is, through the years the Turkey drive has evolved. For those in need, some of them can’t really cook the turkeys or they don’t have the space to store them. The turkey loaves and the hams are a better option for them, easier to cook, easier to store and there may not be as much food leftover or wasted throughout the holiday seasons.”
The number of turkeys needed this year is 3979, which is up from the total in 2022 of 3557 turkeys.
“That is most likely due to more families registering with food banks and more more people just in need this year,” Quillian says.
For those wanting to drop off a turkey, it’ll be a drive-thru style again this year. It’s something that was started during COVID, and Quillian says it has worked ready well.
“There’s a driveway that goes down back to the lower parking, and there’s pylons set up to direct the cars. Basically, people will just come through in their vehicles, drop their turkeys off, and they can certainly get out and shake hands and say hello to us and have a photo if they want to. The volunteers will gladly accept their turkeys and their donations and they can just drive back out,” Quillian adds.
You can also make a donation online on the Turkey Drive website.
The Sue Stultz and Moncton Firefighters Turkey Drive has been around since 1991, and the community has always come out in droves to support it.
Any additional turkeys, loaves and hams that are received above their goal, will be distributed to food banks and used into the New Year for soup kitchens as well.
The turkey drive will run from November 29th to December 2nd.
Hours are from 10 am until 7 pm on the first three days and from 10 am until 4 pm on the last day.
