West Seneca, N.Y. (WBEN) - With Thanksgiving just one week away, several Western New York residents flocked to the Wegmans in West Seneca and Orchard Park, as well as the KeyBank Center Surface Lot in Downtown Buffalo to help those in need this holiday season by donating their extra frozen turkeys and other goods this year.
The Buffalo Sabres, once again, partnered with Wegmans and Audacy Buffalo to hold its annual "Turkeys for Tickets" food drive on Thursday to not only allow for local residents the chance to donate their turkeys for a good cause, but also get the chance to receive a ticket voucher to an upcoming hockey game this season.
Residents in West Seneca started lining up about an hour before volunteers began taking donations for FeedMore WNY and the Buffalo City Mission. Once the lines of vehicles started moving, there was a constant flow of people driving up to drop their goods off and go about the rest of their day.
"This is probably the best turnout I've seen this early," said Lauren Picone, government affairs manager with FeedMore WNY on Thursday. "We did start early this year, the line is out to the street, so it's amazing. The turkey prices, I think, are a little cheaper this year, so I think a lot more people can afford to give, which I really appreciate. And when the Sabres are doing great, it also really helps us as well."
Picone says FeedMore WNY served approximately 197,000 individuals last year, and they expect to fulfill the request of 8,000 frozen turkeys this Thanksgiving.
She adds it was a nice surprise on Thursday to see the amount of Western New Yorkers showing up to donate and help others in need across the region at this time of year.
"I've been doing this for about eight years, and every year I'm always blown away by the gratitude of this area," Picone said. "Audacy, Wegmans and the Sabres are always such great partners, and with such a great reputation in the community, I think all of us coming together really just puts on a great event."
Meanwhile, Western New York native and former Sabres winger Patrick Kaleta was not surprised one bit by the turnout and support from residents of the region on Thursday. He says this event always allow Buffalo to show what the community is all about.
"Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and seeing these families, kids, whoever it may be buying turkeys and supporting the team, as well, is huge, on top of them smiling and being excited for one morning this week," said Kaleta on Thursday, as he took turkeys and other goods from residents. "Just overall, it's exactly what I would expect from the community and supporting the team, and hopefully some better things are coming."
FeedMore WNY says they collected a total of 3,138 turkeys during Thursday's drive.