For a second year, Tampa nonprofit Feed in Need plans to give away more than 1,000 hot meals. Credit: Marcus Quigmire from Florida, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

For a second year, Tampa nonprofit Feed in Need plans to give away more than 1,000 hot meals. Credit: Marcus Quigmire from Florida, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Yup, Thanksgiving dinner is nearly upon us. But that hasn’t stopped Tampa Bay businesses and nonprofits from keeping the holiday do-goodery going through the donation of hot meals and turkeys to families and individuals across the region.

Last week, local Hooters restaurants, alongside iHeartMedia and 970 WFLA, contributed 40 birds to Metropolitan Ministries’ food drive, hosted at WestShore Plaza in Tampa. The most-needed items included turkeys, hams, cereal, canned yams, infant educational toys and gifts for teenage boys and girls.

“This season we are preparing to help 20,000 families and we couldn’t do this without the support of partners like Hooters restaurants. We are thankful for their generosity during the holiday season,” said Jim McCann, senior community donations manager for Metropolitan Ministries, in a news release. “The food collected during this drive will provide a home-cooked holiday meal for local families in need.”

Another nonprofit — Feed in Need, which the owner of South Tampa’s Gengiz Khan, Ergin Tek, founded last year in the wake of Hurricane Irma — plans to give away more than 1,000 hot meals in Tampa as part of its second annual Turkey Day distribution.

On Wednesday, Nov. 21, Feed the Need meals are up for grabs at Dream Builders Mission, as well as MTC Downtown Cafe on Thursday, Nov. 22. Both locations will serve food from noon to 2 p.m. while supplies last.

“What I saw during Hurricane Irma made me realize that I needed to do more for my community. I want to help bring the Tampa Bay community together to help feed those in need,” according to a statement from Tek.

Feed the Need has also joined forces with Tampa Homeless Outreach to provide 100 meals to those with limited transportation.

The community can support the organization’s efforts by making monetary donations online, or in person at Gengiz Khan.

“Together we can overcome our differences and enjoy a day of peace without hunger,” Tek continued. “Please help us help your neighbors in the Tampa Bay Area this holiday season.”

This article appears in Nov 15-22, 2018.