Pokagon Band and Four Winds Casinos partner with Salvation Army to provide Thanksgiving meals

 

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- The season of giving is here. Thanksgiving is always a time of family gatherings and traditional meals, but not everyone can afford even the basics these days.

ABC57's Annie Kate was in Benton Harbor, where the Pokagon Band and Four Winds Casinos provided hundreds of families with food for Thanksgiving.

It took about 90 minutes for volunteers to hand out 300 Thanksgiving food boxes this Tuesday outside the Benton Harbor Salvation Army. Cars were lined up for free meals hours before the giveaway begun.

The donation comes from the Pokagon Band and their Four Winds Casinos. They've been donating holiday meals for about a decade, but this is the first time they have partnered with the Salvation Army.

"People are needing food, the prices are going up of groceries." said Salvation Army Benton Harbor Core Officer & Executive Director, Mario Bledsoe. "So, to have a box with all the Thanksgiving goodies, and to have a smoked bratwurst or burger just for the time being, is huge."

The 300 boxes distributed Tuesday are part of a larger donation of 1,200 food boxes spread out across the region. Each household gets a turkey, fixings, and a pumpkin pie, enough to feed five to six people. Workers were grilling bratwursts and burgers too, giving those in line a free lunch.

"Just to see the joy in people's faces, we're able to be philanthropic, we like that, but it is that good time of year when giving is great." said Scott Brewer, Four Winds Casinos Senior Vice President of Government Affairs & Community Relations.

The Pokagon Band annually does three meal giveaways a year around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.