Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley steps in to save Thanksgiving meal
With just nine days before his big Thanksgiving feast, the founder of We Give Thanks Frank Garcia worried about where was going to find 400 more turkeys.
In addition to their scarcity, turkey prices have reached record levels and Garcia has to stretch his budget to be able to put his feast on the table for those who wouldn't have a Thanksgiving otherwise.
But with less than two weeks to go, Supervisor Katrina Foley decided to grace Garcia with a Thanksgiving blessing.
"Hello everybody," said Foley. "I just want to announce that my office is giving Frank $40,000 to buy turkeys for families."
The surprise is just what Garcia needed after a long night in the kitchen.
"I can get everything I needed," said Garcia. "All the vegetables, all the mashed potatoes. We'll do gravy."
A deadly bird flu has decimated the turkey supply and has driven prices up to levels never seen before. Garcia said he has a budget of $92,000 and can only spend between $30,000 to $40,000 on turkeys. But with the increased prices, he speculated that he might have to spend $100,000 on turkeys alone.
"Yes, I heard that he was short on turkeys and funding," said Foley. "We had our American Rescue Plan funds that are available for food insecurity. What better way than to feed families here in Orange County for Thanksgiving."
Thanks to the funding, Garcia plans to order the rest of the turkeys and get them in the oven before his Thanksgiving feast.
