Want to Feed the Hungry?

The Putnam Community Action Program (CAP) has begun its annual Thanksgiving basket program and, according to Executive Director Judy Callahan, this month’s distribution will be the largest ever.

Callahan forecast 500 households would be provided with food this month—an all-time record—“in what my predecessor Rosemary Bahr often referred to as ‘affluent’ Putnam County.”

Callahan called Thanksgiving an “American tradition. The holiday is a time when we reflect that families right here in our home villages and towns will not have enough to eat. We at CAP strive to make the lives of our low-income neighbors more enjoyable by taking

away the stress of not being able to afford a traditional holiday dinner.”

CAP has asked for the community’s assistance by donating a turkey or $15 supermarket gift card in the hopes that everyone in the county will enjoy a complete Thanksgiving meal this year.

Three groups of community members are also assisting CAP this month. The Brewster High School Young Philanthropists will be conducting a produce drive Nov. 21 and 22 at the Putnam Lake Market and at Kobacker’s Market on North Main Street in Brewster, while the BHS Interact Chapter has already begun a canned food drive at the school. The Concerned Residents of Carmel- Mahopac will also be collecting donations of food in front of the A&P in Mahopac and Shop-Rite in Carmel on Nov. 21 and 22.