Small towns step up as turkey drive donations dwindle in Moncton

Out of the eight volunteers packing hampers at the Dorchester Food Bank on a cold mid-December morning, four of them were there because of Claudette Shea.

Shea, a lifetime volunteer, was joined by her two daughters and two daughters-in-law to help their community. She said it’s always been a tradition during the holidays, but everyone is putting in extra effort this season to meet the growing need.

“We’re a very close family and family oriented, always have been,” she said. “I was brought up in a large family and I have a large family, so I know what it means to go without.”

This year, volunteers in Dorchester collected 40 frozen turkeys to fill the hampers — something they used to rely on Moncton’s large turkey drive for.

Since 1991, the Moncton Firefighters’ Association has collected thousands of turkeys for Moncton, Riverview, Dieppe and surrounding communities, including Dorchester and Salisbury.

But in 2024, demand outweighed donations and Moncton Fire Department Deputy Chief Keith Guptill said they made the difficult decision to no longer support the rural communities.

“There are less donations coming in … because of people having to tighten their finances,” he said. “And yet, there [are] more requests.

“It’s kind of that never-ending cycle.”

Community volunteers step up to help neighbours

Shea said that while she used to do a lot of the heavy lifting — literally and figuratively — now she is content to carry the clipboard checklist and ensure volunteers pack everything into the boxes.

“I’m trying to keep them in line,” she laughed. “I tell them what to take first and tick them off as the stuff is being put in the boxes in order so that everybody gets an equal share.”

And the list itself is plenty long. The group provides around 10 days worth of food for families.

Alongside the usual canned fish and boxes of Kraft Dinner, there are also items, such as soap, shampoo and some special holiday treats.

“There [are] always some goodies in there for the kids — and even the adults, they like the goodies too,” said Linda LeBlanc, president of the Dorchester Volunteer Association, which runs the food bank.

There’s five pound bags of carrots, potatoes and apples, boxes of stuffing and gravy mix, and even homemade mittens for the children. But the biggest item that each recipient will receive is a turkey. 

“I think they were like $1.99 a pound,” LeBlanc said. “So if you’re getting the 15-pound turkey, it’s $30, right?”

“The community really pulled together, … a small community with a big heart for sure.”

The bottom line

The Shea family isn’t the only one helping out at the Dorchester food bank. LeBlanc’s children will also help on distribution day and vice-president Robert Corkerton has tasked his son with helping to stock shelves.

“I have four kids, and so they all spend time helping out, loading shelves, moving stuff in and out of here as it’s been needed over the years,” Corkerton said.

Corkerton does a lot of purchasing for the food bank, and said he tries to keep the budget low by shopping sales. And thanks to cash donations from the community, the turkey purchases didn’t break the bank this year.

While the food bank gets around 20 clients on a typical week, that number more than doubles for Christmas hampers. And LeBlanc said because many are families, that translates to nearly 125 people in the community.

“We have working poor, we have seniors, and people that work, but you know, they need the extra help,” she said. “It’s sad really, but it’s the times.”

The hampers will be picked up or delivered a few days before Christmas and LeBlanc said just like the volunteers, the recipients are neighbours too.

“I’ve lived here a long time and it’s always been neighbour helping neighbour,” said LeBlanc. “You kind of look out for one another.”

For Shea, she doesn’t do it for herself.

“You do it for someone else,” said Shea. “Especially at Christmas, … you don’t want to see anybody go without.”