Food drive dinner dance gets 'phenomenal' donations

AMENIA —Attendance was down nearly 50 tickets for last Friday night’s dinner dance benefiting the Sunday in the Country Food Drive, held at the Immaculate Conception Church. But attendees rose to the occasion with donations, giving hope to the food drive organizers that they will achieve their goal as they struggle to keep up with increasing demand in economic hard times.

The Sunday in the Country Food Drive raises funds during the year to provide holiday dinners for families in need at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year more than $50,000 was raised through the dinner dance, a chicken cookoff at Millerton’s American Legion Post 178 and private donations. Turkey flocks, which “fly� from yard to yard and vacate upon a contribution to the food drive’s coffers, also brought in money.

That $50,000 provided roughly 1,200 meals to 17 food pantries in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. These are full holiday dinners: whole turkeys and a variety of canned sides and dry goods to ensure that every family gets to enjoy a holiday meal together.

The annual dinner dance is by far the food drive’s largest single event. This year more than $18,000 was taken in, and after bills and expenses (Silo Ridge Country Club foots the costs for most of the food) the dinner dance should clear close to $15,000, food drive founder and radio personality “NASCAR� Dave MacMillan reported.

“I’m ecstatic at what happened at the dinner dance,� MacMillan said. “We only sold 220 tickets, and last year it was approximately 275, but we took in $18,000. The people who came were incredibly generous. It was absolutely phenomenal.�

“It was fantastic, especially considering economic hardships,� said event organizer Linda Gregory. “We were very lucky to have prizes and raffles, and [Dutchess County Sheriff] Butch Anderson did a great job as always doing the live auction.�

Friday night marked the fourth annual dinner dance, but the food drive has been around for well over a decade. Disc jockey Joey D, who has been around since the start and provided music during the dinner dance, shed some light on the humorous beginnings of the food drive.

“I put a challenge out on the radio,� he remembered. “I put up $50 to see [food drive stalwart] Randy Christensen put on a chicken outfit and get out on Route 22. We closed down Route 22! But in about five minutes we raised $800. The year after that, it got bigger. And then bigger.

“Nights like this, it’s not expensive and you’re doing something for the people who need it. Everything is given right back to the food pantry. You want to do something good.�

As encouraging as it was to see the spirit of giving, MacMillan said he is concerned about Christmas. Donations are coming in, but the cost of food is up, along with the need. Last year 515 turkeys were given out at Thanksgiving, MacMillan said. This year the food pantries have asked for 610. That’s a 20 percent increase in need alone. Adding to the burden is the cost of turkeys going up $5 a bird and a rise in the price of canned goods, too.

There will be enough to cover all of Thanksgiving without a doubt, MacMillan said, but at this point the fund could be as much as $20,000 short for Christmas.

“I want to make this clear, money is still coming, and the eight turkey flocks are still moving around,� he said.

There will also be a meeting next week for food drive committee members to talk about additional fundraising.

“It’s important to know that people are starting to pay attention. It’s the $20 and $25 checks that really carry us through, and if we get a few of them each day that starts to add up,� MacMillan said. “But our food drive is based on the idea that we give out what we can raise. If 600 families for the past 10 years have been dependent on Sunday in the Country, and this year we can only do half, who’s going to pick up the other half? The state’s not going to do it, the local government isn’t and those people will end up going hungry. That shouldn’t happen anywhere in the United States.�

To make a private donation to the food drive, send checks to Sunday in the Country Food Drive, PO Box 789, Millerton, NY 12546.

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