Island Harvest Hosts 9th Annual Turkey Drive [VIDEO]

BETHPAGE, NY - Thousands of families in need enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner this year thanks to Island Harvest.

The food bank recently hosted their 9th annual Turkey Drive in the parking lot of their Bethpage branch.

The organization donated frozen turkeys and non-perishable goods to help feed over 300,000 local families in need this holiday.

Yearly, the Island Harvest moves about 11 million pounds of food to help feed families across Long Island.

"We really care about the community," Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest told Patch. "Our staff is incredibly passionate about making sure that we can touch lives and help change lives."

Island Harvest worked together with Bethpage Federal Credit Union to put on the event last Friday.

Watch Now: The Helping Hand Of Island Harvest

"Really I always say it takes a whole community to make things work and it really warms my heart every year because the community really comes out for this event," Linda Armyn, VP of corporate affairs for Bethpage Federal Credit Union said.

Volunteers at the event came out to collect all the food donated by local residents throughout the day.

"I almost started like, welling up a little bit when I first got here this afternoon and I just saw everything and I was like 'wow' -- it just touched me," volunteer Theresa Shulz said.

In total the drive collected 2,282 turkeys, 9,000 pounds of food and $5,000 in monetary donations.

"It's not just about giving someone a can of food, it's about really understanding what their needs are, finding the programs that can help them and then work with them to make sure that we can help move them from uncertainty to stability," Shubin Dresner said.

Video by: Mike Seeley