The Christian Center of Park City hosts a Thanksgiving turkey drive every year so Wasatch Back families in need can celebrate with a holiday dinner.
Executive Director Steve Richardson said the center has freezers specifically for the turkeys before the big day.
“They are empty most of the year, but we have to have them for turkey time,” he said on KPCW’s “Local New Hour” Wednesday.
This year, the nonprofit gave out 1,800 birds across Summit and Wasatch counties. Longtime locals know the Christian Center has turkeys ready the Friday before Thanksgiving. Richardson said many people came to pick them up while mobile pantries helped distribute to other areas.
Richardson said each turkey came with a gift as well.
“We had a little food bag along with the turkeys, and then we also had gift cards,” he said. “A donor helped us buy almost 1,000 gift cards.”
Richardson said it’s important to the center to give locals in need the opportunity to shop for themselves.
“Everything we do is about dignity and respect,” Richardson said. “It used to be that we take people and just give them a coat, but that feels like charity. Now they get a gift card and they can go shop in the store on their own.”
Richardson said the Christian Center and its pantries in Park City and Heber City continue to see an increase in visitors. The uptick started in October during the government shutdown when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits weren’t issued.
There are still lingering consequences for families whose SNAP funding was delayed and for people furloughed during the shutdown. Richardson said some seasonal workers in the Wasatch Back also need support.
“You might have noticed not a whole lot of snow,” he said. “So people are needing help. They're here. They might have housing, they had a plan, but they don't have any hours, they don’t have any way to get food, to make money.”
Richardson said the center has also served the highest number of basic needs customers — those who need help paying for electricity or rent — in the last month than in its 25-year history.
The Christian Center will be supporting holiday food and toy drives next month for families in need.
