The Reds Community Fund and Freestore Foodbank hosted a pre-Thanksgiving family food distribution at the P&G MLB Cincinnati Reds Youth Academy on Friday.

More than 2,500 families benefited from the event with over 100,000 pounds of turkey, potatoes, apples, onions, canned goods and sanitizer bottles distributed. It was the second large-scale food distribution in as many months as the Academy hosted one on Sept. 16 that distributed 40,000 meals to roughly 2,000 families.

The success of that September food drive was one of the factors in making last week’s event possible. Knowing that the Academy could host something of that size made organizing the Thanksgiving drive a no-brainer.

• Reds Youth Academy

“In getting this put together, it was basically a phone call to [Executive Director of the Reds Community Fund] Charley Frank saying, 'We’d like to use your space again,'” Freestore Foodbank President & CEO Kurt Reiber said. “He was ready, willing and able to do that, and then bringing out some of the folks that work for the Reds organization [to] help alongside our Guard members is just outstanding. We typically plan months ahead for our food distributions like this, especially over the holidays because we know it’s a critical time for so many families.”

Scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., lines of traffic began forming an hour before the event’s start and remained heavy past the 4 p.m. end time. Cincinnati Police Department’s District 4 helped facilitate traffic at the entrance throughout the day while members of the Ohio National Guard, Reds employees and Reds Community Fund board members loaded the goods into each car that came through.

Reds broadcaster Tommy Thrall joined the Reds staff in lending a hand.

“I had no idea what to expect, but my jaw dropped when I saw the scope of this,” Thrall said. “From the traffic out on the road to the number of people that need some help. It’s nothing to take a few minutes out of your day to make somebody else’s Thanksgiving better. That’s really what it’s all about. These are tough times we’re in right now and if this helps somebody smile and have a little more holiday cheer, it’s well worth it.

“Seeing the staff out here smiling and enjoying their time just speaks to the family environment that the Reds have and the culture that exists within the Reds organization. People are willing to get out and help in the community and to me that’s really special. It means a lot to me to be a part of an organization like that.”

In 2019, the Freestore Foodbank gave out 38 million meals. This year, they are on track to distribute 48 to 50 million meals. While Reiber is pleased with the assistance the Freestore Foodbank has been able to provide, unfortunately that means there are many more people needing help than usual.

Freestore plans to continue these large-scale events for the foreseeable future, because they are the best ways to reach communities that have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. And with the demand for food and other supplies only growing, especially with the winter months approaching, Reiber is hopeful that people will be willing to help during these difficult times.

“Our Guard members are ending their deployment in mid-December, so beginning in January we’re hoping to welcome volunteers back into our warehouse and distribution center,” Reiber said. “They can go to our website and sign up to volunteer because we can’t do these large-scale food distributions without great volunteers.”

Visit https://freestorefoodbank.org/ to learn more about volunteering.