Table to Table to Host Great Bergen County Turkey Take

By Violet Lazarus

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ – Table to Table, New Jersey’s first food rescue program, will be hosting the Great Bergen County Turkey Take. 

Table to Table started by rescuing large amounts of good food from grocery stores and restaurants that would have been discarded and transporting them to facilities in need throughout Bergen County. Through their I-Rescue app, they are now able to commission everyday volunteers to make smaller rescues– ones that don’t require one of their full-sized, refrigerated trucks. This holiday season, they’re putting the app to use and asking volunteers to donate turkeys to neighbors in need.

“At this time of year, many of us have access to a free turkey from our local grocery store; so, why not put it in the hands of a neighbor in need?” Ilene Isaacs, executive director of Table to Table, said. 

To participate, volunteers download the app, email the organization at volunteer@tabletotable.org with their location and the number of turkeys they have, and get their donation ready and packaged. Within 24 hours, Table to Table will respond with a donation center. Volunteers then open their I-Rescue app, click ‘my rescues’ and click ‘start.’ Directions will then pop up guiding volunteers to their donation spot. 

If people don’t have a turkey to donate, but would still like to help, Table to Table is also accepting donations as they continue their important work through the holiday season. 

“For the people that are volunteering and donating, it gives them the opportunity to give something that is so much more than a can of soup,” Julie Kinner, vice president of operations for Table to Table, said. “When you’re giving a whole turkey, you’re giving a tremendous amount of protein to a family who might not be able to afford something so substantial, and something that’s going to feed them typically beyond that one night.” 

The Turkey Take began Nov. 9 and will run through Nov. 23, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Kinner said if it’s successful, the organization is considering running the program through the holiday season until the end of December. 

“We’ve always wanted to do something Thanksgiving specific, or holiday specific, but because of how busy the trucks are we were never able to,” Kinner said. “The app is allowing us to connect with volunteers and do these extra things that we’ve been looking to do.” 

Credit: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/ridgewood/