With just one donation, Bob DelGaudio has provided turkeys to roughly a quarter of the families serviced by the St. Francis of Assisi Food Pantry in the City of Tonawanda.
On Friday morning, DelGaudio, of Bob Del's Home Improvements, delivered two dozen turkeys to the food pantry, an act of charity he has been performing annually since at least 1980.
Thanks to just that one donation, a significant portion of the roughly 90 Tonawanda families who rely on the food pantry to complete their Thanksgiving meals will have full bellies come Thursday.
"I personally feel there shouldn't be hungry people in our country," he said.
For DelGaudio, this Thanksgiving tradition got its start in 1978, after he says St. Francis showed him an unexpected display of kindness during a time of need. Back then, he had a young family and was recovering from surgery he had to cure a case of Bell's palsy.
One day, members of St. Francis' parish arrived on his doorstep unannounced, bringing with them a healthy supply of groceries to lessen the burden felt by DelGaudio and his family while he recovered. The kind gesture left DelGaudio feeling touched, and since then he's been doing whatever he can to show his gratitude.
"I was in tears," he said. "When I started, I would bring two or three turkeys, then, as I seen what they were going through, I'd buy six or 10. So the past few years, I've been buying a couple dozen at a time because I know they need them."
DelGaudio, a Korean War veteran, said that while he's happy to do his part, he also wishes the government would step up and help to take care of hungry Americans, particularly those who served their country in the military.
"They got money for bombs and bullets and foreign aid," he said. "How about taking care of our people first?"
Rita Alviti and Karen Szafran, both coordinators at the food pantry, helped DelGaudio unload the 24 turkeys on Friday morning. Both women said that DelGaudio's contribution makes a huge difference in their efforts to feed underprivileged families each year.
What's more, Alviti said, is that any of the turkeys left over after Thanksgiving will be used to help provide Christmas dinners to the city's needy families next month.
"It's two holidays that (DelGaudio) helps with," she said.
"He brings hams for Easter," Szafran added.
Their other largest turkey donor, Tops Markets, gifted the pantry with 75 turkeys earlier this month. That means they've received more than enough to accommodate the families they know need the extra help this year and have already made good progress toward next month's goal. The pantry also gets regular single donations from members of the community and also St. Francis parishioners.
"It's a wonderful feeling to be here to witness everyone's generosity and spirit," Alviti said.
