With Thanksgiving Day on the horizon, it’s the time of the year where generational recipes will be prepared and plates will be filled. Unfortunately for some, Thanksgiving groceries can be hard to come by, but last week the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC) hosted their annual Turkey Giveaway Event, filling a need for underserved Bronx residents.

MMCC board members along with their loved ones all came out to lend a hand to dish out Thanksgiving goodies during a two-day giveaway event that saw lines of residents waiting to get a bird and some trimmings to go with it. In the basement of the community center nearly 200 people lined up for pantry goods, canned foods and a turkey courtesy of MMCC. Roughly 400 meals were donated in total.

Councilman Andrew Cohen, who’s contributed to the many causes MMCC embraces including the center’s food pantry, was also in attendance to help out and interact with those who were present. The majority of the recipients live locally and come from low-income backgrounds. They were all excited to receive the holiday goodies. Volunteers directed recipients from room to room where they were able to stock up on canned peas, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and other Thanksgiving Day specialties. More than 1,500 families registered for the food pantry.

“It’s a great feeling. We’re all about healing the world and giving back to the community and Mosholu Montefiore Community Center does that in so many ways from little children up through seniors,” said MMCC Board of Directors president Robert Weiss in an interview with News 12 the Bronx.

This was MMCC’s first holiday giveaway of the season.