It’s the week before Thanksgiving.  I’m sitting in my office listening to the hustle and bustle at The River after coming in from a yucky sleet, almost snowy afternoon.  Dock doors opening and closing.  Pallet jacks beeping to alert volunteers to step aside please.  Conversations with volunteers on where they will be working.  Carts rolling around hauling trash and recyclables.

Bill from the Mad City Gobblers stops by to donate 200 turkeys.  I’m happy to grab my coat to tell Bill thank you for continuing to show up each year.  He hands case after case of turkeys from his trailer to Jon our Pantry Manager, who in turn stacks them on a pallet to be weighed and ultimately shared with families for Thanksgiving.  They both work quickly as the rain/sleet is messy, cold and wet.  We have been blessed by Bill for many years now, magically showing up with birds when we need them.  In past years, we took a photo together with his wonderful donation.  Because of the weather, this year there will be no photo, just turkeys.  Bill asks if we want more birds on Friday.  Jon and I look at each other and say, “Of course we’d be happy for more!”  As I look at the two long lines of cars, I’m reminded that everyone, no matter their socio-economic status, wants to be able to provide food for their families all year long, but especially at the holidays.

I share The River’s social media post on my Facebook page about our record-breaking day on Tuesday, serving 467 families.  I ask friends and family to consider donating money.  It takes helping hands.  It also takes generous hearts.  We’re fortunate to have many cheerleaders who understand and appreciate our work.  People are hungry, they need to eat, and we need to help.  It is great to see one of my Facebook friends say that he donated!

What The River doesn’t share on social media is Helen, our Director of Operations, needing to go outside to help direct the cars that keep coming for food with two lines stretching out onto the street.  There is a backup on Packers Ave and an ambulance trying to get through.  Two clients also meet each other for the first time after a minor car accident while trying to navigate the line for food.  I can’t help but yearn for the day that we will have more space in our new building and we won’t have cars backing up traffic on a busy street.  Just one more year!

There is much going on Wednesday for our second day of distributing holiday groceries.  Two lines of cars waiting for volunteers and staff to share a variety of holiday fixings.  Staff and volunteers fill carts with groceries to load into vehicles until 6pm at night through the dark and the snow, reminding us that winter is upon us.

When I ask Helen how many families are served on Wednesday, she texts me a picture with the number 507.  Wow!  2 days in a row of record-breaking numbers.  Plus, our Pantry Coordinator, Ryan, tells me that literally a TON of potatoes go out in a single day.  Just when we think we couldn’t do more than Tuesday, we do! 

It’s such a blessing to be surrounded by so many good people wanting to make a difference to those that come to us for food.  It literally brings me to tears as I type this, about so many people needing food, but also my tears now are tears of thankfulness as I witness people wanting to help people.  Volunteers and staff are outside dealing with the dropping temps and rainy, crappy weather.  Several groups and so many individuals, including two UW Madison athletes, all coming here for the same purpose: to serve our community.  Some learn a new skill of making a roast beef wrap in the kitchen.  Some have to bundle up to go outside to pick groceries for clients and load their cars.  Some put together bags of food from the cooler.  Most of them have no idea the numbers of people that we need to serve in a short amount of time.  They just continue to show up eager to help.

I’m hearing the dock doors opening to unload another truck coming back to The River with food from stores that are sharing their excess products or the fresh produce that is not as fresh as it was a couple of days ago with a price tag on it for folks to purchase.  It’s still safe to eat, so we will share it with our community.  Someone beeping the horn of a pallet jack trying to get through the inefficient space so food can be sorted and distributed.

I’m hearing conversations of staff talking, trying to resolve another issue, trying to make things work yet again.  I smile as I know they will find a way.  They always do.  So much to be done and it will be done…by the kindness of so many.  And our staff do it again and again all week long.

Next week our kitchen staff will distribute prepared Thanksgiving to-go meals.  So much time, energy and planning go into this amazing task of ensuring all who come to us go home with a delicious meal of restaurant quality.  We would not be able to offer such a plentiful Thanksgiving meal without the help from our longtime partners at Madison College.  We give ingredients to Chefs John and Kevin and their Culinary Arts Department students, and they cook over 100 turkeys, mash hundreds of pounds of potatoes, and make boatloads of gravy for The River’s Thanksgiving meal.

The River’s kitchen isn’t big enough to handle all the food, the containers, and the people, but somehow the staff make it all work so families can enjoy a homemade Thanksgiving dinner.  Maybe it will be their only one.  In any case, this one will be so delicious as the contents include more than turkey, potatoes, stuffing and gravy.  It will contain love, care and concern for those in need.  The only thing that might be missing is the dollop of whipped topping on the pie.

At the end of the day, I can go home to a warm home with a full refrigerator and cupboards, while so many in our community live in such a very different world.  And this, brings me to tears once again.  Damn, Helen catches me grabbing for a Kleenex.