Battling rainy weather and frigid temperatures, more than 100 volunteers gathered Nov. 21 in the parking lot of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to distribute Thanksgiving turkeys to organizations that help the needy.

The annual turkey distribution was conducted by Poor Robert’s Mission, a charitable outreach serving those in need in the Washington area. Slightly more than 7,000 turkeys were distributed to churches, youth centers, soup kitchens, schools, homeless shelters and other social service outreaches.

Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory met with volunteers and Poor Robert’s Mission board members as they filled cars, vans, trucks and other vehicles with turkeys destined for families in need.

Many of the volunteers came from local Catholic and other schools.

“It’s a good day for everybody – except the turkeys,” the cardinal quipped as he walked among the volunteers.

The work of Poor Robert’s Mission began in 1967, when Bobby Abbo and patrons of his family’s Roma Restaurant raised money for the Little Sisters of the Poor. Poor Robert’s was formally established as a charity in 1981, and after Abbo’s death in 2014, his nephew, Zachary Huke, has led the outreach, which supports community organizations in serving local families. 

“We are meeting a real human need – the need to eat,” Huke said of the annual giveaway. “This is truly localized community giving,  and that is more important than ever in this unsettled world.

Huke noted that this is the eighth year that the distribution has been held at the National Shrine’s west parking lot.

“The National Shrine has been our partner every year because they share our same vision of service,” he said.