PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Thanksgiving Day tradition for many people in the Philadelphia region is volunteering to deliver turkey dinners to people living with serious illnesses.
Nearly 200 drivers lined up near 20th and Hamilton streets outside MANNA, or the Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance on Thursday morning, prepared to deliver meals to about 1,000 people in need.
Gerry Lipsky, who coordinates the packaging of the food, has been volunteering for 28 years.
"It’s a way to get back to the community, a way to show the community that people love them and care about them, and it’s important to me. I’ve been blessed. I want to share my blessings with those who might need it a little bit more."
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Deana Katz of Center City has been volunteering for about five years.
"It just feels good," she said. "I'm fortunate. I can afford to pay for food, and I’m not sick and all of that. And it’s my pleasure to do it."
She says she still gets a lot out of the experience even though the pandemic keeps the drivers from interacting with the recipients these days.
"They’re grateful," she said. "And I’m grateful that I am helping them."
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The effort, now in its 31st year, is volunteer driven and funded by MANNA's annual pie sale, "Pie in the Sky." This year, that sale moved 11,000 pies.
Sue Daugherty, CEO of MANNA, said supply chain challenges made things difficult this year for their regular operation.
"It was not easy. Food cost is up 40%," she said. "On deli products, we had to compromise a little bit, but not compromising nutrition. But we certainly had to make substitutions in our daily operations — but Thanksgiving, no substitutions in the traditional Thanksgiving meal. But it was not easy."