EDMONTON — An idea by one Red Deer woman to give back to those less fortunate this Thanksgiving weekend quickly spread into communities throughout western Canada thanks to the power of social media.
Amanda Patton, who is known to many in the area as the “leftover lady,” decided on Thursday that she was going to buy turkey dinners for four local families who wouldn’t have otherwise had a proper Thanksgiving meal. She went to the grocery store and bought four turkeys and four gift cards, so the families could buy their favourite turkey fixings to go along with their meal.
“I love turkey. I know lots of people love turkey, but lots of people can’t afford turkey. They’re not cheap,” she said. “Times are tough right now with the oil field so they may have been without a job for the last four or five months and savings are depleting and where’s the money going to come from?”
Then, Patton took to a couple local Facebook groups to empower others to do the same.
“I just challenged anybody who was in a position to help to just go out, buy a turkey, get a gift card or buy a bag of potatoes and a bag of carrots and just give it to a needy family,” she said from her kitchen Sunday morning.
“What happened next was pretty incredible.”
Several Red Deer residents quickly committed to the cause. A Prince George native, Patton also had people in B.C. jump on board. She even had a friend from the U.S. send her money to buy turkeys and grocery store gift cards for 30 families in need of a hot meal.
“My friends just started doing it and then they started sharing and then everybody on the buy and sell page and the leftover group started doing it… I lost track at 100,” Patton exclaimed.
“Turkey tsunami,” she called it, with a laugh. “It started off as kind of a ripple effect and then literally turned into a tsunami.”
READ MORE: What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?
This isn’t the first time Patton has helped hungry families in the Red Deer area. About eight months ago, she took to Facebook to offer up leftover Chinese food she knew would otherwise get thrown out. While she received some criticism for the post, the food was graciously picked up. A leftovers group was started on Facebook a short time later and Patton uses it often.
“I’ll make a lasagna and I’ll have an extra three pieces and I’ll just post it on Facebook and I have families who didn’t have dinner that night or their kids got fed but they didn’t,” she said. “I’ve had dozens and dozens of families come to my door to pick up leftovers.”
While she owns her own business now, Patton is all too familiar with the struggles faced by many families. She was a single mother for years, and when her family lived in B.C., Patton’s husband lost his job.
“It was tough,” she said. “I know exactly what it’s like. I’ve been there.”
Now that she’s able, she gives back where she can. On Saturday, Patton and her sons handed out turkeys and gift cards to dozens of local families.
“Yesterday was a really emotional day for me and I just can’t believe that a community can come together like that,” she said Sunday. “Lots of tears were shed yesterday. The support was just incredible.”
Since the idea was such a hit, Patton is already planning to do it again at Christmas.
Comments