Volunteer describes No Hunger Holiday's push for turkeys and volunteers to serve about 4,000 households

John Callahan presented to the Senior Resident Advisory Committee on Oct. 13 on behalf of No Hunger Holiday, an organization he said was founded about 35 years ago by retired judge Frank Conard. Callahan said the program "now provide[s] for about 4,000 households," with roughly half of those households in St. Charles County.

Callahan described how No Hunger Holiday works through 31 partner agencies (including Youth in Need, The Salvation Army and Saint Vincent de Paul societies) that vet recipients and avoid duplicate distributions. He said the program assembles boxes so recipients can prepare a Thanksgiving meal at home and that most of the work is handled by partner charities.

On supply needs, Callahan said the program requires frozen turkeys and other food items; the transcript records his phrasing as "about 4,012 pound frozen turkeys," which appears to conflate the number of households with an item weight. He also described volunteer assembly: two assembly lines, a cardboard box loaded with about 11 items and a 12‑pound frozen turkey included per box.

Callahan said collection will be centered at the Knights of Columbus Hall — William Pieselt Hall in Cottleville on Highway N (he said he thought the street number was 5701) — and that organized drop-offs and freezer trucks are planned for Thursday, Nov. 20 through Monday, Nov. 24. He urged donations of frozen turkeys and other nonperishable items and said the program is concerned about meeting demand after drawing down reserves.

A committee member asked whether volunteers sign up online to assemble boxes; Callahan said volunteers can "just show up" and help with heavy lifting on an assembly line. He described rising costs for non-turkey items and estimated an increased per-box cost for side items approaching $40.

Callahan closed by asking for community support and thanking the committee for the opportunity to present.