Hundreds of Thanksgiving turkeys were handed out last week at Stew Leonard’s in East Meadow, continuing a holiday tradition now in its 45th year. The company’s annual Turkey Brigade — launched in 1979 and passed down through generations of the Leonard family — has grown with each new store opening, spreading the effort across the tri-state area to help combat food insecurity during the holiday season.
On Nov. 13, elected officials joined members of the East Meadow Fire Department, Nassau County police officers, Stew Leonard’s employees and representatives of the Nassau County Police Benevolent Association to load boxes of turkeys into waiting vehicles. Forming a human assembly line outside the Front Street store, volunteers passed hundreds of frozen birds from hand to hand and into the trunks of cars representing dozens of charities, churches and service organizations.
As vehicles pulled up, drivers popped open their trunks and volunteers stacked the boxes inside before sending each car off to deliver meals to residents in need.
Among the groups receiving turkeys this year were the Nassau County Veterans Agency, St. Brigid’s Catholic Church, St. Bernard’s Church Social Ministry and St. Barnabas Church, St. Francis De Chantal, along with many smaller food pantries and shelters throughout the county.
This year marked the ninth time the East Meadow location has taken part in the Turkey Brigade. Stew Leonard Jr., the company’s president and CEO, has often said the event adds meaning to the season for employees and volunteers alike, knowing the meals will reach families who might otherwise go without. Thousands of turkeys are distributed across all Stew Leonard’s stores each November, with East Meadow’s giveaway serving as a major local effort to support neighbors ahead of the holiday.
“It makes our Thanksgiving that much better,” Leonard Jr. told the Herald at a previous turkey brigade. “Because we know that there are a lot of families out there who don’t have a great meal.”
