Marcia Chambers Photo
Lt. Dave Galdenzi.
The Branford Police Department and the Big Y supermarket joined forces this Thanksgiving for their annual turkey fundraiser to benefit the Community Dining Room and the Branford Food Pantry. By the end of the day the cops had collected a record 182 turkeys for Thanksgiving dinners.
Lt. Dave Galdenzi (top photo) parked a police van outside of the Big Y on Saturday where he and his partner collected the turkeys and put them in the back of the truck.
Marcia Chambers Photo
(L-R) Jamie and Melany at the Big Y.
Meanwhile, Jamie and Melany , who work at the Big Y, collected other non-perishable food as they wished customers a Happy Thanksgiving. They also collected funds for the event. Last year officers and Big Y employees collected over 160 turkeys and hundreds of pounds of canned goods from shoppers for the holiday season.
“This was a very good year,” Lt. Galdenzi told the Eagle. The idea took root three years ago and has been growing ever since.
Marcia Chambers Photo
Police Chief Kevin Halloran agreed. He said initially the count was 179 turkeys. Three more were added to that number when a resident followed the police van to its location and gave the cops three more birds.
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