BUFFALO, N.Y. — The new Alfiero Family Center of Hope and Promise was filled with volunteers preparing meals to those in need. It's the Buffalo City Mission's annual Turkey Express Thanksgiving Meal Delivery program.
"This is where we'll have about 250 volunteers come on site," Aubrey Calhoun, Buffalo City Mission executive director and CEO, said. "We will package and then we will have our 176 delivery teams show up and this is where we'll pack up their cars and then they will bless and blanket Western New York with over 5,000 meals today."
That's in addition to the mission's turkey distribution; more than 17,000 meals were shared over two weeks. Calhoun says food distributions like this are important because there are many people struggling.
"Especially with the inflation rising so drastically," Calhoun said. "Food is so expensive and this is where we're having a lot of families and individuals coming out and saying that they need help."
For volunteers like Gail Hodges, volunteering for the Turkey Express event has become a tradition. She's been here packing food for the last six years.
"I wanted to give back to the community," Hodges said. "I wanted to get my kids involved. I wanted them to see and be able to recognize that helping your community does make a difference."
This year is especially exciting for staff and volunteers as this is the first Turkey Express event held here at this building.
"Well, when we were in the middle of construction and building this new building, and then also the pandemic hit, we had to take this event out into the community," Calhoun said. "So for the past five years we've been out in the Wegmans parking lot and the Thruway Mall. We know that this event is essential...we didn't want to cancel it because of the pandemic."
"I was looking forward to coming back inside to the building," Hodges said. "I was so excited to see the new renovations and everything that had changed...it's always good people. The new volunteers that come in the new faces some of the old faces, it's great."