“We’re never in a panic mode, usually, but we are this time,” Thomas said. “We need 675 turkeys right now. We have 987 families signed up, which is up about 200 families from last year. People are still signing up; we don’t want to say no to anyone.”

If Friendly Hands doesn’t get enough turkey donations, it will supplement with roaster chickens, she said. “But we can’t guarantee we can do that,” Thomas said. 

Friendly Hands is supported by Connecticut Foodshare, which was founded in 1982, and is a member of the Feeding America nationwide network of food banks. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomas said, the food bank’s list of clients has continued to increase.

“We’re seeing increases of between 200 and 300 people a month,” she said. “It sounds extravagant to say that, but people are coming out of the woodwork from all over, towns like Naugatuck, Watertown … places where we don’t normally see people.

“CT Foodshare, our governing body, encourages people to go to more than one food bank for help,” Thomas said. “We can’t tell people where to go, so we don’t turn anyone away. We have to follow the guidelines set forth by the Foodshare.”

Grocery prices have gone up, too. 

“One week, eggs are $8 a dozen, and then when they go back down to $3 a dozen, meat prices go way up,” Thomas said. “Food assistance is meant to be a supplement, but unfortunately people are depending on it more and more, just to put food on the table.”

The food bank is also providing daily bags of necessities, including food, for people facing homelessness.

“We have special bags for unhoused people who come to us, and we fill them with things they can use, like pop-top soup, cheese and crackers, shelf stable foods,” Thomas said. “There’s been a huge influx for those people, so they have food each day.”

The food bank’s Thanksgiving bag giveaway is set for Nov. 18. To donate food or money to Friendy Hands Food Bank, visit fhfb.org or call 860-482-3338.