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Date: 11/3/2021
LUDLOW- After a year off due to COVID-19, Ludlow Veterans Services will be hosting its third food drive to provide meals for veterans and their families for Thanksgiving.
Ludlow’s Director of Veterans Services Eric Segundo said they received turkeys from a donor to pair with donations from the community to put together meals for veterans in the community.
“This is going to be our third year of doing the food drive. What we have been able to do recently is have a donor donate some turkeys. Once the donations come in, we prep the bags for the meal and then add a turkey to the bag,” he said.
In terms of donations, Segundo said he is looking for non-perishable items that are typically part of a Thanksgiving meal.
“People can drop their donations off here at the town hall during normal business hours. We are looking for Thanksgiving favorites, canned vegetables, instant potatoes, mac and cheese, corn, peas, carrots, baking product, mayonnaise and pickles for macaroni salad, basically all the stuff we would put on a Thanksgiving table,” he said.
Along with the donations, Segundo said Veterans Services heads to the grocery store to pick up perishable items before the bags are packed.
“When we say meals it includes vegetables, potatoes, breads and turkey. Sometimes we have even added gift cards so they can go buy a ham or cooked chicken if they are a single veteran,” he said. “We go out and buy the perishable stuff the day before we pack the bags and we put a bag of potatoes in with carrots so there are fresh vegetables and fruits as well,” he said.
Segundo said this program will help veterans who may be financially struggling.
“With everything happening now the need to stock food for some veterans choosing between paying a bill and putting food on the table, this program will help,” he said.
Segundo said the idea for the drive came from the community.
“Someone came in and asked if there were any veterans families who needed food for the holidays, and I thought that was a great idea. That was how it started and that year we collected food,” he said.
At the drive’s peak, Segundo said they gave out over 50 meals in one of the previous years.
“It has been picking up and it has been because of the community involvement. They have been very generous when it comes to our veterans. The number fluctuates depending on the donations, but on a high we have done over 50 meals,” he said.
Once the final donations are in on Nov. 19, Segundo said he and a team of volunteers will bag the meals up so they are ready for pickup by veterans once the turkeys arrive.
“We are trying to get the donations in by that Friday so we can bag them up and have them ready for when we get our turkeys on Nov. 22. A bunch of volunteers get together, and we prep the food donations. Once we have the turkey date they can drive up and we will put the bag in the car,” he said.
Segundo said the food drive represents what Veterans’ Services is all about.
“It is heartwarming, this is what we do, we are here to help our veterans and families. If we can put a meal on a veteran’s table or give that veteran an opportunity to provide his family and use his resources for something else other than this meal then it is great,” he said.
Any veterans interested in signing up for the program can call Ludlow Veterans Services at 583-5600 ext. 1290 by Nov. 19.