Open your kitchen cabinet. That can of corn in the back could end up on somebody's Thanksgiving table this year. The YMCA of Yonkers is collecting the meal right now, and the list reads like a normal grocery run. You don't need to cook a thing.
The Yonkers YMCA Is Collecting the Meal
The Y's Thanksgiving food drive started Oct. 29 and runs through Wednesday, Nov. 18. The Y says it's for Thanksgiving meals for families in need this holiday season. The Y posted the same Nov. 18 deadline on its own Instagram.
Here's the list, straight from the Y. Canned gravy. Canned corn. Stuffing. Cranberry sauce, and either kind works, whole berry or jellied. Cornbread mix. Rice. Canned yams. Mashed potatoes. Mac and cheese.
None of it is fancy. That's the point. Read it again and you'll see a whole plate. There's a main, the turkey. There are sides, from stuffing and yams to rice, corn, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. Then the extras that make it feel like the holiday: gravy, cranberry sauce and cornbread.
Most of it sits fine in a cabinet, so it's easy to grab two of something on your next grocery run and drop one off.
And the Big One: Frozen Turkeys
The Y takes frozen turkeys too. If a whole bird is a stretch, turkey breasts are on the list as well. The drive's donations go to the attention of George Negron, the Y's food manager.
The Y Already Feeds Neighbors Every Weeknight
This isn't a once-a-year thing for the Y. Its community dining room serves a hot dinner Monday through Friday. Teens in the Y's program eat at 5. Y residents and members eat at 5:30. At 6 p.m., the doors open to the community.
The Y runs a food pantry too. It opens on Monday mornings, and you bring your own bag. The Yonkers Public Library lists both programs in its guide to local food help.
So when you drop off a can of yams, it lands with people who already do this every week. That's Yonkers taking care of its own.
Drop It Off by Nov. 18
Bring donations to the YMCA of Yonkers at 17 Riverdale Avenue, downtown. The deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 18, which gives the Y a week to turn cans and turkeys into meals before Thanksgiving on Nov. 26.
Got a question first? Call Sade Gilcrest at 914-963-0183, ext. 30, or email [email protected].
A few easy ways to make it count:
Shop the list, not your leftovers. The Y asked for these exact items.
Go in with neighbors. One building, one block or one office can fill a whole bag.
Bring the kids. Let them pick the stuffing. It's a good way to show them what the holiday is about.
Need a Hand Yourself?
That's okay too. The Y's weeknight dinner is open to Yonkers residents at 6 p.m., and its pantry opens Monday mornings. If you're not sure where to start, the Y's main line is 914-963-0183. The Yonkers Public Library also keeps a list of local food pantries on its website, ypl.org.
Grab a can. Fill a bag. Drop it at the Y.
Follow @TheYonkersCollective for more Yonkers stories, and read Not Upstate Magazine at thenineonefour.com.
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