A Hot Meal for the Holidays: Community Donor and Muscatine Hy-Vees Provide Holiday Turkeys and Hams to MCSA
by Margaret Hurlbert
November 25, 2019

At the holidays, nothing brings families together like hot meals. For those in need, affording quality food to put on the table can present a huge challenge. This season, Muscatine’s Hy-Vees, along with the help of an anonymous donor, will help those in need have warm holiday meals by donating 250 Thanksgiving turkeys and 250 Christmas hams.

For years, Muscatine’s Hy-Vees have donated turkeys to the Muscatine Food Pantry to make sure no one went without at Thanksgiving. For the first time ever, a community partner stepped up to donate the turkeys, allowing Hy-Vee to match them with an equal number of hams. Jason Dornbush, Permanent Supportive Housing and Project Manager at Muscatine Center for Social Action (MCSA), which operates the food pantry, elaborated, “a donor in the faith community was able to fundraise the turkeys and Hy-Vee donated the hams.”

On Thursday, November 21st, the Hy-Vee’s delivered both the turkeys and hams. They gave out the turkeys during food pantry distribution and will save the hams to give out closer to Christmas. While helping with the distribution, Dornbush shared his joy in getting the donations and in turn passing them on to those who need them. “It’s absolutely amazing,” he said. It’s filling a need in our community. . .. We’re truly blessed by the generosity of Muscatine.”

Chad Adams, Store Director of Hy-Vee Mainstreet, echoed Dornbush’s delight. “Our partnership between Honeysuckle [Turkey] and Hormel has made it possible to help people in their time of need this holiday season. . .. It’s great to have these organizations coming together to help residents of this community. . .. Time and time again, more organizations are willing to step up and help the community.”

In total, the Hy-Vees and their partner donated 3,433 pounds of turkey and an almost equal weight in ham. This sizable donation will help secure high-quality Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for many families across the county, brightening their holidays. The generosity of everyone who made these meals possible will brighten the holidays for everyone throughout the community as well.

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