Before stuffing your turkey and yourselves on Thanksgiving Day, consider joining friends and neighbors for a little five-kilometer jaunt around New Paltz to benefit the local food pantry. Co-directed by Suzanne Holt and Dawn Tomassi, the Family of New Paltz Turkey Trot has become a New Paltz tradition: a run/walk starting from Water Street Market along Plains Road and looping back via the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. An event that attracts more than 1,000 participants annually, the Turkey Trot is great for both beginners and “elite” runners who want to test their endurance in a relatively easy race – and for avid walkers, as well. Tomassi explains that each runner will have a chip timer affixed to a shoe, which will automatically record his or her run time: a service of the Albany Running Exchange Event Production, paid for by local sponsors.
The Turkey Trot and the half-mile-long Mashed Potato Fun Run for kids directly benefit the Family of New Paltz Food Pantry, coordinated by Icilma Lewis. The Food Pantry served more than 1,000 families last year, and the current economic climate is bringing more people in for crisis relief. Kathy Cartagena explains that in the month of October, enough food to provide 2, 925 meals in three-day packages was distributed to families and individuals, plus over 800 emergency calls for additional food.
The Food Pantry is supported by federal and state grants to purchase through the Ulster County Food Bank, but relies heavily on community donations of non-perishable food and money. She says, “This is the time of year we do well with food drives and donations, and this has to carry us through the whole year. Summer is like a drought. Nothing comes in during the summer – no checks, no donations; kids are not in school to get their lunches, so we give out more food then than ever. Any money we make now carries us through the summer.”
For Turkey Trot runners and walkers, the 5K event goes from 8 to 10:30 a.m. The Mashed Potato Fun Run is open to kids 10 years and under. It’s a half-mile run for fun that starts at 9 a.m. All Mashed Potato finishers will receive a complimentary treat or donated prize, and no times or results will be posted. A limited number of event tee-shirts may be available for purchase after the Turkey Trot, depending on preregistration – but don’t let that keep you from dressing up like a real gobbler! Check out the photos of past events at www.newpaltzturkeytrot.com for inspiration. Until the day before Thanksgiving, the entrance fee is $10 for ages 18 and under and seniors 65 and over, and $15 for ages 19 to 64 years. On race day, the entrance fees are $12 and $17 respectively. Participants can avoid long lines on race day by registering and picking up race packets from noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25 at Rock and Snow on Main Street, or via www.active.com until that day by 5 p.m. You may also register on the day of the event at Water Street Market starting at 8 a.m.
In addition to operating the Food Pantry, Family of New Paltz is a crisis intervention center located in the heart of New Paltz that has provided the community with a 24-hour crisis hotline, counseling, support groups and shelter since 1975. For more information about Family of New Paltz, located at 51 North Chestnut Street, call (845) 255-8801 or visit the website at www.familyofwoodstockinc.org.