Nonprofit offers free fixings for 100 Thanksgiving dinners in Freeport area

The Feed Freeport effort rolled out during the pandemic will serve up fixings for 100 free Thanksgiving dinners to Freeport-area residents.

The Dynamic Community Foundation, an offshoot of NextHome Dynamic Realty in Freeport, and a community activist, are rustling up 100 frozen turkeys (14 to 16 pounds), stuffing, mashed potatoes, heat-and-serve dinners rolls, cornbread, corn, cranberry sauce and frozen pumpkin pie.

The free dinners are available to residents who live in the Freeport Area School District. Residents must register for the dinners with the foundation, supplying only their names and proof of residency. There is no income requirement, said Jackie Gaughan of South Buffalo, a community activist.

The registration is necessary for planning. Meals will be available on a first come, first served basis, and as of Sunday, about 35 residents had signed up, Gaughan said. Registration is due by Saturday .

Gaughan and the foundation saw a need for the free Thanksgiving dinners after the success of Feeding Freeport, a free meal offered weekdays to anyone in the Freeport region impacted by the covid-19 pandemic from mid-March to mid-June. They served almost 24,000 made-from-scratch meals.

“It’s a wakeup call for people in the town to see the need,” Gaughan said.

In a twist, the foundation was able to serve up the meals in a pandemic-safe way: A drive-thru window at Dynamic Realty’s Freeport office. The same distribution method will be used for the Thanksgiving meal fixings.

“In our small town, some people are still not back to work, and others such as the elderly are drastically impacted by the pandemic,” Gaughan said.

Community support for the effort has grown with the foundation, and Gaughan presenting a fundraiser golf tournament at Birdsfoot Golf Club this summer that netted $4,000 for the Thanksgiving dinners, she said.

Additionally, Giant Eagle is donating free frozen pumpkin pies, and Sprankle’s Neighborhood Markets is securing ingredients for the rest of the meal, Gaughan said.

Also helping the free meal effort has been contributions from home sales made by Realtors of NextHome Dynamic Realty to the company’s foundation.

“The foundation’s goal has always been to support the community that supports the real estate business,” said Heidi Powell, owner of NextHome Dynamic Realty in Freeport.

“In times like these, it’s really important to find the need,” she said. “We are blessed to have the support, funds and love from the community to give back to the community.”

Residents who want the free fixings for Thanksgiving can register online at the Dynamic Community Foundation Facebook page or by calling 724-295-5500. Deadline is Saturday. Meal packages can be picked up the weekend before Thanksgiving via the realty Freeport office.