Police, Fire Hand Out Hundreds Of Turkeys For Families In Need At Stew Leonard's In Norwalk

NORWALK, CT — Members of the city's police and fire departments joined team members at Stew Leonard's in Norwalk to hand out hundreds of turkeys to those in need during the store's 47th annual turkey brigade Thursday morning.

According to Nicole Weiss, vice president of the Norwalk store, about 26 local organizations, including food pantries, shelters and charities, were present at the store to receive turkeys from Stew Leonard's.

Mayor Barbara Smyth, Sen. Bob Duff and CEO Stew Leonard Jr. were also in attendance for the annual pre-holiday event.

Leonard said he spoke with his 94-year-old mother earlier in the day, who was upset about a rainy weather forecast.

As he watched first responders form a human assembly line to place turkeys into a line of vehicles ready to transport them to families facing food insecurity this Thanksgiving, Leonard had a different outlook.

"It's a beautiful day," Leonard said during the event, "and that's how our family feels today."

According to Weiss, the Norwalk store alone will give away about 780 turkeys this year, and Stew Leonard's will distribute 3,000 turkeys amongst all of their stores.

Weiss, who has been present for nearly 40 of the store's annual turkey brigades, said the event never gets old.

"It's so fun," Weiss said. "Seeing the smiles on everyone's faces is what we want to do throughout the holidays."

Leonard acknowledged that his business mind was typically racing ahead of Thanksgiving, one of the busiest times of the year at his stores.

"Food, wine, catering, and our mind is just like how are we going to do this and do it really well?" Leonard said. "But then today, it's almost like you sort of put the truck in neutral and you just say 'take a deep breath and look at all the nice people that you're able to help today.'"

Smyth thanked Leonard during the event for his commitment to the Norwalk community.

"This is always such a tough time for families," Smyth said, "and anything that we can do to help is appreciated by all."

Duff also thanked the Leonard family and the store's employees and customers, as well as the police and fire crews in attendance.

"Stews is homegrown," Duff said during the event. "It's our local place here, and we appreciate the 3,000 turkeys you are giving away. They're going to be put to good use."

With Thanksgiving just weeks away and the busy holiday season fast-approaching, Leonard said preparations at his stores have gone well so far.

He also said he was excited to able to slightly lower the prices of the store's filet mignon, as well as their balsam Christmas trees, this holiday season.

According to Weiss, the Norwalk store alone receives about 1,300 catering orders for Thanksgiving, and the weekend after the holiday is also the store's busiest weekend for selling Christmas trees.

"I always say we go from pumpkins to turkeys to trees to filet mignon," Weiss said.

As families around Norwalk prepare to gather and give thanks later this month, Leonard said he had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

"I think I'm just grateful to be healthy and have a nice business," Leonard said, "and to be able to take care of all these employees that we have. We give turkeys to all of them at Thanksgiving. It's nice to see that you're able to make a difference I guess. That's really what it's about."