For many, Thanksgiving serves up memories of huge meals and tables laden with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberries.
But those memories and those meals aren’t a reality for families that struggle to put food on the table on a normal day, much less a holiday meal.
The Key West Rotary Club is hoping to solve that food shortage and give nearly 300 local families a reason to be thankful this holiday season.
The noon Rotary received from the Monroe County School District a list of 276 requests for Thanksgiving baskets for local families, including 13 homeless families. The club is in the process of raising money — a total of $8,280 — to buy each family a $30 gift card from Publix.
“They can use that to buy a turkey and other items, and then the schools will collect the canned goods for the families,” said Christie Martin, who’s heading up the initiative for the Rotary Club. “We’re hoping to have everything to the schools by Nov. 15 to give families plenty of time to shop for their meals.”
Anyone who wants to sponsor one or more families, or make a general donation, is asked to call Christie Martin at 305-304-5181.
