Making sure everybody gets a turkey

Christopher Tucker wanted to make sure that everybody eats during on Thanksgiving. Tucker, a maintenance worker from Lakeview, hosted a Turkey Drive for the Lakeview community at Harold Walker Memorial Park last Sunday, at which he gave away 32 turkeys to those who needed them, no questions asked.

“There’s a lot of people that can’t, and they won’t say that they can’t,” Tucker said of being able to afford the Thanksgiving staple. “So when you just provide it, they never have to speak on it. They don’t have to say, ‘Oh, I couldn’t afford it’ or whatever. There’s no reason, you just come get it.”

Tucker and his wife, Latesha, organized a fundraiser at which people could donate — whether in the form of cash or a turkey — to the drive. Now he plans to make it an annual tradition, and help 50 families next year.

“We all got to eat,” Tucker said simply.

It was especially significant for him to give back to the community in which he was raised. “They gave to me,” he said. “So now that I’m older, to give back — hopefully the youth that see us doing it, they’re inspired to keep it going. “And hopefully when we’re long and gone, it’s still going on.”

Individuals, couples and entire families lined up in the park on Sunday as music played, kids chased one other on the playground and friends caught up.

“Like a big family vibe, party vibe,” Jerome Moore, who received a turkey, said.

This wasn’t the first time Tucker and his friends have fed the community for a holiday. For the past three years, he has hosted a July Fourth barbecue in his backyard. This year, he organized a Halloween candy drive at which he helped give out more than 200 bags of candy. And nine months ago, he and his sister, Felisha Tucker, began cooking and distributing meals at the park at the end of every month — because people should feel loved not just during the holidays, but every day, Tucker said.

Moore said that Tucker’s food events are beloved by the community. “Honestly, the town comes out every time — they love it,” Moore said. “It brings people together in the community.”

Tucker was helped with Sunday’s event by his family and friends, including Shanari Houstin, Dezzo Hayes and Michael Walker, who has been involved with feeding the community for more than 25 years.

“When I was young, I used to be hungry,” Walker said. “So we feel that that’s very important — being in a position now where we can help, it’s mandatory that we do help.”

Walker added that he doesn’t want children these days to have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, or whether they will be able to celebrate a holiday when groceries are so expensive. “Around the holidays, all you really think about is food,” he said with a laugh.

“To be part of a community that is this close-knit and looking out for one another, when the maybe less fortunate may not have right now, that’s just a good feeling,” Moore said. “That’s something good to know, that you have people in your community that’s willing to pick up where you can’t.”