In a few short days, we’ll finally be able to put aside our political divisions and focus on the things that unite us, by which I mean celebrating the family traditions we hold dear on Thanksgiving… like getting drunk and fighting with the in-laws.

But last year, I started something that I really hope will be adopted as a different kind of annual tradition: Give the Bird the Bird to the Editor Türkiye is trying to benefit Redwood Empire Food Bank.

About 500 of you broke your piggy banks last November and donated $50,000 To benefit people who would otherwise go hungry on Thanksgiving and many other days.

Your generosity was truly impressive.

Unfortunately, the need in our community has grown even greater, so we’ll be doing it again this year, but with an even bigger goal, one-liners that are truly sharper than yours, and even the chance to win awesome prizes. More on this in a moment.

I spoke with Rachelle Mesheau, who runs the food bank, the other day, and she told me that cash donations have remained somewhat flat this year, outnumbering food donations even as the need continues to grow.

And unfortunately, these cash donations buy less food than last year. It’s not just the food bank. As my colleague Susan Wood reported A few weeks ago, charitable giving in the North Bay failed to keep pace with inflation.

Last month alone, 61,000 people sought food bank help to alleviate some of their food insecurity. These were unique individuals, not the same individuals who returned again and again. Last year, the number of unique individuals served increased by 8%. That works out to 142,000 people in Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties. The largest share was in Sonoma County, where 112,000 people, more than 20% of our population, sought help.

Redwood Empire Food Bank September 2024 Data and Statistics Report

Simply put, there are too many people among us at risk of going hungry, and many of them are children. Children who go to bed hungry. Children waking up hungry. And children going to school hungry.

You don’t have to be a brain sturgeon to know that a child with a growling stomach will have difficulty learning and that proper nutrition is essential for children to reach their full potential. (And kids who fail to reach their full potential become newspaper editors, and frankly, I don’t need competition.)

So, to prevent kids from having to suffer the fate of your humble narrator, we once again offer you the Give the Editor the Bird ride. I was originally going to categorize it and call it Give the Editor the Bird, Part Two, but our newspaper’s spell-check system was trying to change it to Part Ducks.

Either way, it works like the turkey rides we had in the glory days of newspapers, before most of them were gobbled up by hedge funds.

We were collecting real turkeys in those days, but instead of having to go to Ralph’s or Oliver’s or Raley’s or Safeway or 7-Eleven or, God help us, pick a wild turkey from your local pasture, we just ask you to donate. advance.

There’s a good reason for this. First, our newsroom operations manager, Ayrjia Child, has enough on her plate without randomly dropping armfuls of fowl into our lobby. But the real reason is that the food bank can buy so much more from you with your dollar.

This is because they buy food in bulk, or what they call economies of scale. At least that’s what I think it’s called. I wasn’t paying much attention when explaining this at school. Remember, I’m not a brain sturgeon.

For the purposes of our trip, we’ll count $25 as a turkey. Last year we collected 2,000 turkeys, or $50,000. We’re aiming higher this year, so our goal this year is — drum roll please — 3,000 turkeys, or $75,000.

Since I won’t ask you to do anything I wouldn’t do myself, I’m making the same deal I made last year: If we reach our goal, I’ll deposit $1,000 of the money I earned from caring for my dog, George’s. Sports betting account.

And just like last year, our esteemed publisher and grand honcho, Eric Johnston, the biggest star of all Sonoma Media Investments, will also match my input.

Now let’s get to those amazing prizes. Anyone who donates $100 or more will be entered into a drawing to win one of the truly amazing experiences.

First, there will be a private wine tasting with Peg Melnick, the former Press Democrat wine columnist who taught me everything I know about wine; like which ones will hit you the fastest and proper bottle wiping rules after taking a sip.

We have other rewards in the works, including the opportunity to grab a beer with a truly great Bay Area sports star. You’ll find more about this in my next column.

Meanwhile, Click here to donate or go refb.org/givethebird.

And tell the relatives you’ll be fighting with on Thanksgiving that they can donate too.

Giving the Editor the Bird is a non-partisan activity.

John D’Anna is editor-in-chief of The Press Democrat. Reach him at [email protected].