A holiday dream team unites to provide Miami Liberty City families Thanksgiving turkeys and goodies!
Article written by: Mimi Chacin
Thanksgiving in 2020 was a paradox in many ways, but a Common Threads dream team came together to prove that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Common Threads partner The Advisory Committee of Liberty City Youth (TACOLCY) teamed up with Miami-based Holmes Elementary School and Common Threads supporter, Wild Fork Foods, to host a Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway benefiting Liberty City families and community.
TACOLCY, a non-profit youth organization located in the heart of Liberty City in Miami, and Common Threads kicked off their new partnership with the Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway. Over the next few months, 100 TACOLCY elementary, middle and high school aged students will participate in Common Threads’ after school nutrition education and snack-making program, Small Bites.
A week before Thanksgiving Day, families that participate in TACOLCY programs drove through a socially-distanced pick-up distribution station set up at Holmes Elementary School by principal, Launa Fuller, and her team, to pick up frozen turkeys stuffed in a Common Threads collapsible insulated lunch box, along with kitchen goodies, a Thanksgiving Turkey recipe by Wild Fork and healthy recipe cards from Common Threads. Additional turkeys were provided to Holmes Elementary staff, with 100 turkeys distributed in total.
Wild Fork Foods, a new national retail & ecommerce grocery concept that offers a wide selection of meat & seafood, alongside other items like breads & dessert, supports Common Threads with a grant and supplying Wild Fork products to families participating in Common Threads programs.
“Wild Fork is thrilled to support the Common Threads mission as it so closely aligns with our own,” said Tracy Sinclair, Wild Fork’s head of marketing and customer experience. “At Wild Fork we’re passionate about making it easy for home cooks to have access to a wide variety of nourishing proteins and prepare meals for their family with ease.”
Shownda Pagan, CEO of TACOLY, who helped organize the giveaway, also attended along with Sinclair and a wonderful squad of Wild Fork volunteers who assisted in the distribution. In addition to the many families who took home a Thanksgiving turkey and other giveaways, Holmes Elementary teachers and staff, as well as Miami Dade County security personnel also welcomed the Thanksgiving offerings.
Common Threads looks forward to a long and rewarding partnership with TACOLCY and Holmes Elementary School, offering families, students and staff health education and cooking skills programming, as well as expanding our partnership with Wild Fork across the country, including areas that Wild Fork recently opened in: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, (Southern) California, Nevada, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey!
ABOUT COMMON THREADS
Common Threads is a national nonprofit that provides children and families cooking and nutrition education to encourage healthy habits that contribute to wellness. We equip under-resourced communities with information to make affordable, nutritious and appealing food choices wherever they live, work, learn and play. We know that food is rooted in culture and tradition, so we promote diversity in our lessons and recipes, encouraging our participants to celebrate the world around them. To learn more, visit www.commonthreads.org or on social media by searching for #CookingForLife.
