Turkey Giveaway Brings Much Needed Assistance to Underserved Community
Video and Article by Cesar Canizales
Just in time for Thanksgiving -- the Holy Temple Evangelistic Center in Skyway, a region near Renton -- was the site of a turkey giveaway in an area that traditionally has been underserved.
This first annual turkey giveaway was led by Gardner Global CEO Jaebadiah Gardner, who bought the property with plans to develop it. He said the new building will include affordable housing, which is lacking in this region.
“We just want to give back to the community as the holidays approach and this is a community that's a little bit underserved, so we want to serve,” said Gardner.
Gardner said he partnered with the nonprofit PUSH, an organization that focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion training, the Emergency Feeding Program and other groups to bring turkeys to the more than 200 people who showed up.
“Our goal is to continue the partnership, working with Jaebadiah, providing food to those that are going to be in the lower income properties,” said Glenn Turner, executive director of the Emergency Feeding Program. “It helps support the community, making sure that everybody is fed.”
With high inflation that has seen prices rise quickly over the past year, the event couldn’t have come at a better time
“Whether it's inflation or not, our community is always at the bottom of the barrel. Whether it was a great economy or a struggling economy, we want to make sure that we're reaching our people,” Gardner said. “So, you know, it really is not about a special moment. It's about just holistically. We need to just get in the process of giving back and getting in this practice of giving back. So regardless of what the market's doing, we're going to do our best to serve.”
“I think we're hearing it by the numbers. You know, there's nothing being vocalized about it. But, you know, the number of people that have started accessing food from our location is increased probably tenfold. So that's the response. You know, you see it. You don't necessarily hear you see it,” Turner said.
Dr. Timmie Foster works with Gardner Global and is also a grant manager with PUSH. She said she grew up in the area and is fortunate to come back to support the community.
“People who are able to provide that added support and even their added time is this is really a benefit to humanity,” Dr. Foster said. “What we like to continue to emphasize is about like what community looks like. And this is a form of what community looks like: providing resources, gathering resources, making resources available for people at a centralized location where they can go to.”
Gardner said the idea for a turkey giveaway stemmed from a conversation he had with former basketball player Tre Simmons after the two exchanged texts.
“We just put our brains together,” said Simmons, who is a community development manager for the Emergency Feeding Program. “You know, I wanted to do a turkey giveaway. He wanted to do a turkey giveaway. So, we just we just ‘collab.’” Gardner responded, “I got three acres!”
Dr. Foster said the event was successful, especially in an area that is so special for her.
“It's just been incredible, incredible to see folks have come out,” Dr. Foster said. “Skyway is a part of unincorporated Seattle. It's a place that has been kept sacred, if you will, for a lot of communities from the racially diverse backgrounds. And there's just a richness of this area in terms of richness and historic nature of it.”
James Williams, who works with PUSH, said it was important to hold the giveaway at the site of a church.
“The church is actually the soul of the community, number one,” said Williams. “So, for people to be able to come to a church and get the things that they need and hopefully return to the church and be involved in the church is a big thing for the neighborhood.”
Gardner said the new housing development he plans to build will have at least 100 affordable housing units and will include ample community space, so the turkey giveaways can continue every year.
