Thanksgiving Heroes

Volunteers collaborate at the Saugus United Parish Food Pantry on Saturday morning so that 140 needy families can enjoy the traditional Thanksgiving Day meal

By Mark E. Vogler

Sophia Brogna got to experience the meaning of Thanksgiving in a different way last Saturday morning. The 14-year-old Saugus girl spent two and a half hours in the basement of Cliftondale Congregational Church with a group of more than 40 volunteers at the Saugus United Parish Food Pantry.

“My job was to help out by carrying turkeys to people’s cars parked near the sidewalk outside the church,” Sophia said, explaining her role.

“The people were really welcoming. Everybody was nice to me. They were very grateful and thanked me for helping to make their Thanksgiving a little happier,” she said.

Working alongside Sophia was Lorena Ochoa-Morales, another first-time volunteer preparing Thanksgiving Day meals at the food pantry. “I have lived in the neighborhood and have been a Saugus resident for 13 years,” Ochoa-Morales said. “The reason why I came today was I just wanted to do something for the community. So I carried some turkeys out. The people who received them were very grateful and thanked me for providing the service so that they could prepare a Thanksgiving Day meal.”

Sophia and Ochoa-Morales were a few of the newcomers involved this year in what has become a food pantry tradition for the past three decades.

“We’re happy to do this year after year,” said Debbie Hoye, the wife of Cliftondale Congregational Church Pastor Joseph Hoyle, who has helped her husband organize the Thanksgiving Food Drive for the past five years.

“We have our regular group of people that come back every year. And there’s always a new group of volunteers to join them,” she said.

“There are 140 families again this year that we are helping. And it’s definitely a blessing this year that we have this. With the federal government shutdown, our regular food pantry has increased in the last few weeks,” she said.

Each family that came to pick up their turkey needed some help to carry out the additional food to help make their meal. There was a box containing fresh produce – green beans, onions, carrots, corn, squash, a bag of potatoes, apples, a bag of cranberries – and a jug of apple cider. They also got a blue bag containing canned green beans, canned corn, stuffing mix, desert mix, cranberry sauce, cornbread mix, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy.

Debbie Hoyle said the food pantry’s annual Thanksgiving food drive brings out the best of Saugus – with a showing of tremendous generosity. “There are so many individuals whose names we’ll never know who drop off food and money to help make a Thanksgiving Day meal possible for people who may not otherwise be able to have one,” Debbie said.

“A lot of people and organizations rally around to donate goods. There are seven different organizations that hold food drives for us. And we have a number of corporate people involved – Trader Joe’s of Saugus, Price Rite in Lynn, Whole Foods in Lynfield and Market Basket in Lynn. Stop & Shop in Saugus is also a huge contributor. Local schools, the local YMCA, the VFW and two Girl Scout troops also contribute to the cause, according to Debbie Hoyle.

Saugus High Football Head Coach Steve Cummings has become a regular over the past seven years, bringing with him some of his players. “Just to be able to come down here for a couple of hours and help families have a good Thanksgiving – that’s a good thing to be able to do,” Cummings said on Saturday morning.

“We have some good kids on our team who see the big picture in life and the importance of building community ties. They understand that any time you’re able to give back, it’s a good thing,” he said.

Mary Lou (she didn’t want to give her last name) said she was one of the volunteers about three decades ago when Carol Cashman organized the first Thanksgiving food drive at the food pantry. “I’ve been here – on and off – for about 22 years. It’s a very good thing that the people here are doing,” Mary Lou said.