The positivity in the parking lot of St. Emydius Church in San Francisco was contagious on a soggy Saturday morning.
It was all thanks to Pierre Smut, the San Francisco resident who started an annual turkey drive in 2012.
“Over the last four years we have collected over 5,000 turkeys,” he said. “People are hungry in this city. They’re hungry everywhere. But I wanted to focus on the community we’re in. That’s important to me.”
The turkeys and other food collected go to the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and then to community organizations.
“It could be Project Open Hand, it could be St. Anthony’s Foundation, it could be GLIDE, it could be any organization that cooks food for the people who need it most,” he said.
In addition to offering a helping hand, he also wants to give others the opportunity to give. Joshua Phillips says he’s grateful to be able to help those who are less fortunate.
“It makes me feel like I can give them something to be grateful for,” he said.
The SF-Marin Food Bank reports that an estimated 1 in 5 people experience some degree of food insecurity.
“That means they have to make difficult choices about paying their rent or buying food. In fact, we see that the need has increased since the pandemic,” said Chris Padula, Chief Philanthropy and Engagement Officer.
He says whether food, money or time it all makes a difference. A single dollar can do much more than you might think.
“The good thing right now is that we have competitions,” he said. “We have a lot of donors who give matching gifts. So if you give $10, it actually becomes $20, and that becomes 40 meals.”
Back at the turkey drive, Smit revealed he has no plans to stop doing it anytime soon.
“I’ve done it for thirteen years and I hope to continue for a long time, yes,” he said. “I started the day with 440 turkeys. We hope to reach 800-900 by the end of the day today.”
He is organizing another turkey drive on December 21. This will take place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at St. Emydius Church, located at 350 De Montfort Ave. in San Francisco.
