Fredericton grocers raising funds to collect 2,200 turkeys for those in need

A group of independent grocers in Fredericton are taking part in the 2024 Community Grocers Campaign with a goal to raise enough money to purchase thousands of turkeys for a local food bank.

Greener Village provides food in the greater Fredericton area, and sees over 58,000 visits for its services each year.

The goal for the 2024 turkey drive is to buy 2,200 turkeys. As of Nov. 28, the fundraiser has reached about three-quarters of its goal, with over $57,000 raised.

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The four grocers participating in this year’s turkey drive are:

• Peter’s Meat Market
• Wolastoq Meat Market
• Fredericton Direct Charge Co-op
• Victory Meat and Produce Market Fredericton and Lincoln

Alex Scholten, president of Victory Meat and Produce Market, says although the campaign itself ends this Saturday, the turkey collections extend until Monday.

“As of Monday this week, we are at about 70 per cent of our goal, so we’re getting there. And typically, with this campaign, we see that big push in the last week anyway, so we’re pretty hopeful we can reach the goal of 2,200 turkeys,” said Scholten.

Scholten says the campaign came about when grocers recognized the high number of people struggling to afford everyday items.

He’s encouraging those who are in a position to donate to consider helping with this yearly campaign.

“This campaign came about because of a need in our community and we see that as grocers all the time too. Our customers, the residents in our communities, are really struggling with the cost of food, and power going up, and just the general cost of living increases every year,” he said.

“So, this campaign has been going on in different forms for the better part of 10 years. The community has been very, very supportive, very helpful, and we’re just asking them again, this year especially – it’s going to be a challenging time for many families – to come out to any of the locations. There’s opportunities to provide funding at the cash registers, there are e-transfer addresses … and through Greener Village or the Firefighters Association in Fredericton. There’s many locations to make donations.”

Scholten says the community support around the campaign is always heartwarming to see.

“Each year, we put a goal together based on what Greener Village tells us what the need will be, and each year we think, ‘Oh my goodness. That’s going to be a challenge and can we make it.’ And we all lose sleep about it but each year, our community comes out and is very generous. So we’re hopeful again that we can reach that goal and help as many people as we possibly can.”

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