It's a few days before Thanksgiving, and Dave MacMillan of Millerton is already thinking about Christmas. "We'd like to be able to distribute Christmas turkeys and food baskets to every family who wants one," says MacMillan, whose not for profit group, Sunday in the Country Food Drive, just distributed 640 turkey baskets to 18 food pantries in the Rural Intelligence region—from Pawling to Hillsdale, from Millbrook to Sheffield. "I expect that is how many requests we'll get for Christmas, too, which is 25 percent more than last year, so we need to do more fundraising right away. And turkeys are more expensive this year, so our money does not go as far." MacMillan, a retired maintenance worker at the Culinary Institute of America who's known as "Nascar Dave" on Robin Hood Radio, founded Sunday in the Country 18 years ago by giving out two fourteen-pound turkeys. The mission is simple: Raise money from local people for local pantries, purchase all food from local vendors, and feed local families in need. "This is a working man's fund drive," he says, explaining that the donors don't necessarily have big incomes and the recipients are often working families. "Unfortunately, a lot of husbands and wives who both work still struggle to pay their bills. They have to pay for medicine or fuel oil or school books for their kids, and sometimes food goes on the back burner." The basket of food that Sunday in the Country provides—a 12-14 pound turkey, a 5-pound bag of potatoes, green beans and another vegetable, a box of stuffing and fixings to bake a pie—costs between $25 and $30, which means MacMillan's Christmas wish list will cost at least $16,000. Alhough the organization has some donors who write big checks, it depends on small donations and community-based fundraising such as door-to-door solicitations and raffles. "For example, Bruce Television in Amenia has donated a 42-inch plasma screen and we are selling only 200 raffle tickets at $10 a piece so everyone has a good shot at winning. And we'll be very happy to have raised that $2,000," he says. "This is really a grass roots effort." Sunday in the Country Food DrivePO Box 789 Millerton, NY 12546 To purchase raffle tickets: Call Judy MacMillan at 845.373.9757Related post: "The Many Ways of Giving To Food Banks & Pantries"(RI, 11/25/2008)
