Generous residents help ensure happy Thanksgiving for needy

MONTROSE — More than 220 families in Montrose, Ouray and Delta counties enjoy Thanksgiving dinner today courtesy of a philanthropic tradition.

“It made people cry. It was wonderful,” said Chuck Lemoine, director of Delta County Department of Health and Human Services.

Dave Fritz started the Thanksgiving Dinners Program with friends and family in 2005. The program orders turkeys, trimmings and pies for a number of needy families then raises donations from residents to cover the costs. In 2006, 120 meals were distributed; numbers this year are closer to 260, Fritz said.

“We’ve heard through a couple of sources that donations to food banks and that type of stuff were really down this year because of the state of the country — but that was not my (experience) at all,” he said. “A lot of people stated that if we were short any dinners just give them a call and they’d sponsor a couple more families.”

About 160 dinners were distributed in Montrose County, with 80 in the city of Montrose area and 80 in the Nucla area. Delta received about 20, with a few more in Hotchkiss and others to Ouray County, Fritz said.

He said recipients include the elderly, folks out of work and single-parent families.

“We just don’t turn anybody down. If there’s a need and they need a meal we feed them,” he said. “We don’t ever say ‘no’.”

Although Fritz spends several weeks organizing the program, he typically doesn’t meet the people on the receiving end. Meals in the city of Montrose area were distributed through Montrose County Health and Human Services. Pat Douglas is an executive assistant at HHS.

“It kind of gave them a positive outlook, you know, that things will be a little better. It gave them a good sense of hope,” Douglas said of the recipients. “It was very heartwarming.”

Lemoine said he’s delivering the Delta County Board of Commissioners a letter acknowledging Fritz’s generosity in providing such a charitable contribution to the county.

“What a sweetheart — it’s that kind of thing I love to help. This is the time of year where families are really under stress and he definitely stepped up. Neat thing,” Lemoine said.

He said the distribution went “off like clockwork” and that the food was delivered to its recipients by two adult protective caseworkers from his department by noon Tuesday.

“They said the response was extremely gratifying and there were instances of tears because people said they wouldn’t have had a Thanksgiving dinner without Mr. Fritz’s generosity,” Lemoine said.

Fritz said the program has nearly doubled in participation each year; he expects it to grow by 50 to 75 percent next year. He plans to expand it into San Miguel County and deeper into Delta County.

He said there were about 130 donors this year who paid $35 per meal. Each meal, which is precooked by Schwan’s Food Company, is sized to feed a family of six.

“It went off without a hitch,” Fritz said.

Contact Robert Allen via e-mail at roberta@montrosepress.com