“We shouldn’t assume Skaneateles is a wealthy community,” Owen said.
But, in Skaneateles, it is also a time to go for a leisurely run and then drop a few dollars in a hat to benefit a local charity.
The Annual Turkey Trot in Skaneateles is never planned, but the crowd seems to have grown considerably over the years, said Dennis Owen, who is known to many as the event’s grand marshal.
“They try to call me the grand marshal, but I say, ‘No, I’m the grand turkey,’” Owen said.
Aside from Owen, the Turkey Trot is possible with the help of Kevin Cahill, Jimmy Gregg, Bill Marquardt and Jimmy Strodel.
According to Owen, the 2009 trot brought out the largest crowd yet — around 300 people. This year, the guys who have taken charge of the event also raised considerably more money than last year, a total of $824. In 2008, the group brought in $710.
Where does all that money go to? To a great cause — the Skaneateles Ecumenical Food Pantry.
“We shouldn’t assume Skaneateles is a wealthy community,” Owen said.
Judy Gelston, chairperson of the food pantry, said the money the Turkey Trot donated to the pantry helped feed 288 people.
Gelston said she learned of the Turkey Trot last year, and this year she was able to hear the runners go by from her home.
While the food pantry has received funds from the event in the past, she said last year was her first year as chair of the pantry and the donation came as a total surprise. This year’s donation was just as much a surprise and a much-needed boost for the pantry.
However, Gelston said the funds can’t be factored in each year because there may come a year when the donation isn’t there. In other words, she’s not counting her turkeys before they’re hatched.
Is there a need?
The food pantry supplies residents in the Skaneateles Central School District with a three-day supply of food. Open year-round, Gelston said in 2009 the need between September and October was up 1,000 meals.
While generosity is also increasing with donations such as the funds from the Turkey Trot and food donations from various service organizations throughout the community, the need is continually rising.
“This year in a really, really great way we were inundated with food,” Gelston said.
The Boy and Girl Scouts held a food drive in November to help stock the pantry and then just recently children from the Skaneateles Middle School held a competition and in the end donated a pickup truck load of goods to the pantry.
“It took five adults four and a half hours to sort it,” Gelston said about the school’s donation.
In preparation of the Thanksgiving holiday, local businesses also get involved by holding the “Let’s Talk Turkey” event in which shoppers can donate non-perishable goods to the pantry.
For Thanksgiving, the pantry makes food baskets for families in need. Each basket contains a turkey and all the fixings, including fresh apples from the Leubner family farm.
“We put a lot into this,” Gelston said. “We tuck extra things in.”
The pantry fed 108 families for Thanksgiving and plans to feed 110 for the Christmas holiday.
The pantry, located at the bus garage on West Genesee Street behind the Hill Top Restaurant, is open from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays and from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursdays. If there’s an emergency need, contact the dispatch center. They will contact the pantry to help supply families in crisis.
There is a large sign on the pantry’s door, but since it’s in an inconspicuous location, it may take a bit to find it.
After all, “It’s one of the best kept secrets,” Gelston said about Skaneateles’ pantry.
