Leigh Markham, Community In Schools site manager for Jefferson Elementary, Principal Tina Lowers and Tammy Jones, McKinney-Vento Local Liaison for Wood County Schools, handed out 100 turkeys and boxes of sides to families on Friday. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

PARKERSBURG – As students began their Thanksgiving break Friday, Jefferson Elementary distributed 100 turkeys with boxes of sides to families in need, thanks to a donation from Astorg Motors.

“Astorg Motors has donated 100 turkeys to Jefferson families that we are handing out today,” Leigh Markham, Community In Schools site manager for Jefferson Elementary, said. “Families have signed up over the last two weeks.”

The turkeys also came with meal boxes that included mashed potatoes, canned corn and green beans, gravy, rolls and even cranberry sauce.

“You got a full meal. All the fixings,” Principal Tina Lowers said. “That’s nice too, with the rolls and things, because things like that, that aren’t shelf stable, are things we don’t normally carry.”

Lowers said the school has an excellent food pantry that includes food, cleaning supplies and hygiene products but she said they have limitations on the food products they can distribute.

Leigh Markham, Community In Schools site manager for Jefferson Elementary, and Principal Tina Lowers prepare to hand out 100 turkeys and boxes of sides to families of students Friday at the school. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

“One of the things we don’t have the capacity here for at Jefferson is a large freezer, cooler system to hold meat,” Lowers said. “So having a turkey, a whole turkey, is a huge luxury, because that’s not something we normally have the ability to have on hand.”

In addition to the turkeys, Lowers said the school handed out 275 five-day meal kits for students — each kit including breakfast and lunch — as well as 30 more holiday meals donated from another source to get them through the Thanksgiving break.

“This is just one more blessing,” Lowers said.

Tammy Jones, McKinney-Vento Local Liaison for Wood County Schools, said these meals have a tremendous impact on families during this tough economic climate as families face challenges like inflation and uncertainty over food stamps. That was not lost on the organizers.

“They depend on the school meals… it’s a high need,”Jones said.

Leigh Markham, Community In Schools site manager for Jefferson Elementary, Principal Tina Lowers and Tammy Jones, McKinney-Vento Local Liaison for Wood County Schools, handed out 100 turkeys and boxes of sides to families on Friday. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Lowers said it was through community support that they are able to continue to meet the needs of Jefferson families.

“We’re eternally grateful for our community support. The local businesses here are incredibly generous with Jefferson Elementary,” Lowers said. “Anytime we need anything, Miss Markham makes a phone call, and [local businesses] meet us with their needs, if not exceed it.”

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com