Community

Donated turkeys to benefit local families in need this Thanksgiving

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department gave out turkeys and food to needy families in the area Monday.

A total of 62 frozen turkeys, which were donated by Church Unleashed in Commack, were handed out by members of the Sheriff’s Department, as were about 60 bags of nonperishable food donations from Sheriff’s office employees and unions.

“Poverty is one of the issues that a lot of the young children in our county are facing today,” Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. said.

This is the second year his office and employees have donated food for the needy.

Receiving the food items were representatives from the Riverhead Central School District, Empowerment Collaborative of Long Island, New Hour and the North Shore Youth Council.

“It’s incredible that the Sheriff’s office contacted us and said they would like to donate baskets to some of our families,” said Tom Payton, the principal of Roanoke Avenue Elementary School. “Some great families are going to have a fantastic Thanksgiving thanks to the Sheriff’s department, and we couldn’t be more thankful.”

Photos by Tim Gannon

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