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GREENBURGH, N.Y. About 10 years ago, Delores Tenzer retired her apron from Thanksgiving cooking, and started accepting invitations to her relative's houses for the holidays. Since then, she realized that she had no need for a turkey, and has donated it to families in need.
This year, with her husband Mark, she boxed up some stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, string beans and corn, and dropped it off at the Theodore D. Young Community Center, where they accept Thanksgiving food donations.
"We decided that there are so many families out there that don't have the ability to sit down and buy a full meal for their family," said Mark. "There are families in this community that can't. I think it's important to give back to the community as best you possibly can."
Initially, the Tenzers donated the food to the Hartsdale Fire Station, which found families in need of food on the holidays.
"Everybody is struggling," said Delores. "Everybody needs to make ends meet. If I have a little bit more and enough to share, I'm going to share. There are people who don't need their turkey. And it didn't take more than five minutes to buy stove-top stuffing and mashed potato mix and canned goods and cranberry sauce. It's a home meal."
Some grocery stores give patrons a free turkey if they spend over a certain dollar amount, and some offices give their employees a turkey for the holidays, said the Tenzers. Delores said that if families are not going to use their turkeys for this Thanksgiving holiday, there are other families that could.
"We feel that if we can be happy on Thanksgiving, why shouldn't we try to give somebody else some happiness, too?" said Mark. "That's the important part. If 50 families could do this, you'd make 50 other families happy. Families that probably never thought they could have this dinner. To give back in life is a good thing."
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