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On Tuesday evening, boxes filled with turkeys and other Thanksgiving-related food were packed into school buses to be delivered to schools where needy families would pick them up Wednesday.
Charles Benzyk, director of energy management for Stamford Public Schools, is an employee of AFB Management, which has a facility management contract with the school district. The company organized the event, marking its fifth year of taking part, he said.
AFB raised $48,000 from its own commitment as well as donations from vendors who do business with the company.
"It's nice to give back to the community that you work in," Benzyk said.
The money was used to buy enough food for 1,600 meals. The West Haven School District received 250 dinners, the East Haven School District got 50 dinners and Stamford distributed 305 dinners.
The New Haven School District garnered the lion's share as it received about 1,000 dinners from AFB.
That money was used to buy the turkeys and other food items from a number of companies, including Shop Rite, he said. The meals were put together at New Haven Public Schools central kitchen, Benzyk said.
It will be up to the families to cook the 12- to 14-pound turkeys, he said. The food is enough for a family of six, Benzyk said.
Lorraine Olson, vice president of the board of education, said the food contributes to healthy students and families.
"Hunger and poverty contribute to mental health issues, and so we are feeding our families and making sure our children are being taken care of," Olson said.
Families in need were identified by school social workers, she said.
"This is a really big important thing to do for our families and for our schools . We want our kids to be healthy. If they are not healthy they cannot be academically successfully," Olson said.
First Student, which runs the buses for the school district, provided four buses for the event to transport the meals to the districts 23 schools and learning centers.
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