By DAVID MAMARIL HOROWITZ
david.horowitz@bgdailynews.com

The Warren County Public Schools system is seeking food donations — primarily frozen turkeys, but also chickens — to go toward families within the school district who would otherwise have difficulty procuring Thanksgiving meals.

The public can donate at the WCPS Central Office at 303 Lovers Lane from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday until Nov. 20.

“Our goal is to make sure that all of our Thanksgiving food boxes for our families all across the district are filled with a turkey,” said Ben Kirtley, the WCPS director of family resource and youth services. “Now, we’ll get some chickens and things like that too, but we’re just trying to make sure that everybody has a chance to have Thanksgiving.”

WCPS coordinators, who have holiday lists of families who may be in need of food, will get in contact with those families, Kirtley said. WCPS is storing chickens and turkeys in a trailer at -4 degrees Celsius.

On Nov. 21, the district will begin distributing those to schools. Some families will pick them up, and coordinators will work with people who may lack transportation to get food delivered.

Community organizations are partnering to provide a large part of the food packages, most of which will include a turkey, chicken and sides, Kirtley said. He said that the nonprofit House on the Hill is partnering with organizations to pack some 600 boxes for area schools; for example, Tyson Foods is supplying chickens, he said.

Kirtley said that if he had to guess, some 400 boxes with turkey, chicken and sides will go to WCPS families.

While WCPS is accepting donations of sides, he said, “because House on the Hill is making those boxes, they’ve got a lot of the stuff already. They’ve got their own sponsors doing that.

“We’re always looking for donations, but our community is always so generous that we’re able to provide for whoever needs it in our schools right now.”

While city schools aren’t hosting a public food drive, they too are receiving donations from community partners such as Stuff the Bus and local churches, said Leslie McCoy, BGISD’s director of communications.

Bowling Green Independent School District’s Family Resource and Youth Services Centers will work with families to plan a meal pick-up scheduled for Nov. 22, she said.