400 frozen turkeys donated to various families in Sudbury for their Christmas dinners

A trailer load of frozen turkeys was dropped off at a high school today in the Sudbury-area community of Lively, and those turkeys are bound for the tables of families needing a bit of help at this time of year.

It's part of a joint donation project spearheaded by a local business — Matt's Plumbing — and the Rainbow District School Board. The Turkeys for Families initiative was launched in 2019 and has steadily grown since its inception.

Jaques Barbeau helped with the loading up of the turkeys that were purchased by a number of local companies, and then delivered to various schools for distribution.

"I think it's going to make a huge difference to a lot of people. It's a tough time, we all know the cost of food, the costs of raising kids these days is just through the roof. So there's going to be a few more happy people this year," said Barbeau.

Barbeau said the turkeys are worth about $80 to $100 apiece.

He says this is the idea of Matt Stillwaugh, who enjoys giving back to the community, and annually rounds up support from fellow business operators and suppliers. 

"Matt is the biggest funder of the event, but we also went out and asked some business for a little bit of help, and many came on board," said Barbeau. 

Lively District Secondary School was one schools involved in the distribution on Friday, and took responsibility for getting word to families in need of some help at this time of year. 

The school principal, Susan Kett, says she and her students have enjoyed this project, and she's loved making the calls to 64 families to tell them they'll be getting a turkey for their Christmas dinner.

"Those were the best phone calls that we made as a school. To hear the surprise coming from the families and of course all of the appreciation and gratitude. They were just wondering how they ended up with a turkey, where the turkeys were coming from, and wanted us to share back to the companies how grateful they are for receiving these turkeys at this time of year," said Kett.

Kett says she thinks having her students involved in a project like this is a great learning experience. 

"I think it's really important to instill a sense of community to students, and the understanding of how important it is to give back when you can," she said.

"There'll be times in our lives when we're going to go through times where we need help and we need support, and by giving back they can get an understanding of the give and take that is really important."