Hundreds of families gathered at River City Middle School on Saturday for the 6th Annual Turkey Giveaway and Resource Fair, the largest of its kind in the Metro Richmond area. Organized by Delegate Mike Jones (D-77th), the event distributed over 2,000 turkeys and cooking supplies, including tin pans, to families in need.

Rosie’s Gaming Emporium, a key partner since 2018 through its “Rosie’s Gives Back” initiative, helped facilitate the giveaway alongside volunteers from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Public officials, including Mayor Levar M. Stoney and Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-15th), attended the event. Sen. Hashmi distributed more than 1,000 boxes of cornbread mix and expressed gratitude for the collaboration of volunteers and organizations in making the event a success.

“The Turkey Giveaway is a wonderful, annual opportunity to connect with the Richmond area community and ensure that families have a festive meal for their Thanksgiving tables,” Hashmi stated.

The River City Middle School Step Team performed for the long line of families that winded throughout the school and gymnasium. Community resource tables were stationed throughout the building, including those from the Richmond People’s Budget, the Richmond Department of Public Utilities and the Attorney General’s Witness/Victim services.

 The River City Middle School Step Team performs during the 6th Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway and Resource Fair.
 

According to Feed America, the largest domestic hunger relief program in the U.S., over 20% of children from Richmond face food insecurity. Rodrigo Arriaza, an employee at the nonprofit FeedMore, said he has seen an increase in the amount of families that require assistance from food banks over the last year.

“Due to inflation and other factors I’ve really seen a rise in need for that here,” Arriaza said. “That’s going to continue this week and into the coming weeks and months as well.”