The Black Neighborhood gives out 500 turkeys, 600 bags of food: ‘People need this service more than ever’

It’s Saturday morning and inside a sprawling room at the Richmond Recreation Complex, around 50 volunteers stack boxes of cornbread, sacks of potatoes, cans of chicken broth and other Thanksgiving essentials onto laden tables. Outside, even more non-perishables wait in a U-Haul. 

They’re prepping for the 10th annual Turkey Drive hosted by The Black Neighborhood, a Richmond nonprofit inspired by the Black Panthers, encouraging empowerment in Black communities. Volunteers are readying the 500 turkeys and 600 bags of food they will distribute to residents Sunday.

“People need this service more than ever,” said Uzo Nwadugbo, a founding member of The Black Neighborhood.

Nwadugbo said the organization doubled the amount of food collected this year because of the government shutdown and the precarity of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. He also boosted outreach, distributing flyers about the giveaway at schools, churches, and parks. 

Reaching families in need, Nwadugbo said, “changes their holiday.”

Lindsay Judd stacked flats of canned chicken broth onto a table, three middle-school aged boys working alongside her.  She sees it as an opportunity to build character. 

“Instead of them being the receivers, have them be the givers,” Judd said. 

Cory Elliott, a co-founder of The Black Neighborhood, doesn’t see the work as charity.

 “We’re not giving to the needy per se, we’re helping our neighbor out. We’re inviting people to the table,” Elliott said. “Providing a staple that is consistent and people can rely on, it’s like going to your favorite aunt’s house every holiday season.”

The Black Neighborhood’s turkey drive began in 2015. For years, the organization was the sole provider of hundreds of turkeys and hundreds of bags of groceries. In 2022, it gained a partner.

Prospect Sierra Schools, the alma mater of several of the founders, stepped in to take some of the weight off of The Black Neighborhood, tapping their school community to raise funds. 

Liz Clark, Sierra Prospect’s director of development, was among the volunteers Saturday, organizing boxes of macaroni and cheese into rows. The private school in El Cerrito offers scholarships to students from lower income homes, and Clark wondered if some could use holiday meal help, too. 

“I am wondering if there are people from our school community who will show up,” she said.  

On Sunday, a line of cars greets volunteers at 8 a.m. Several remark that this is the longest line they’ve seen at the start of the food drive. 

Sarah Ross, waiting in the line, said she is particularly grateful for this year’s turkey drive. The last time she relied on a grocery giveaway was in 2008, during the Great Recession. 

“My kids are coming home for Thanksgiving, and this helps,” she said. 

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