The Community Food Bank of New Jersey is already hard at work, even though it's still a few weeks away from Thanksgiving.

Efforts today at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Hillside will go a long way in making families visiting soup kitchens in the Newark area very happy this Thanksgiving. 

“We are giving out the turkeys on Tuesday,” says Minister Ellis Daniels. “We’re helping the senior citizens of the church and people are having hard times right now. We’ve been doing this every year by the grace of God.”

Although there’s a lack of truck drivers, warehouse workers, forklift drivers and turkeys are more expensive this year, the Community Food Bank plans to distribute 70,000 Thanksgiving turkeys and roasters statewide, which is twice as many as last year.  

“We ordered these turkeys back in March,” says Jennifer Nelson, with Community Food Bank of New Jersey. “Turkeys come in and go out on a rolling basis statewide. It’s going to be almost 70,000 birds that we distribute.”

About 800,000 people in New Jersey are currently struggling with hunger, including 200,000 children. 

As New Jersey’s largest anti-hunger, anti-poverty organization, the food bank will host several large-scale turkey distribution events throughout November to provide community members across the state with Thanksgiving meals. 

The Community Food Bank reminds everyone that donations and volunteering is always welcome year-round, as food insecurities do not end once the holidays are over.