Woman Collects Enough Thanksgiving Food Donations To Fill A Room

NORTH FORK, NY — One woman who has spent a lifetime giving back focused her huge-hearted efforts on collecting food for the needy this Thanksgiving.

And her hard work paid off: After collecting food at King Kullen and IGA, Katie Coe of Mattituck garnered $1,900 in cash donations and around 22 "very full shopping carts of food — enough to fill a room in my house with triple stacked boxes," she said.

With Thanksgiving on Thursday, the food has all been distributed to families who will have a bountiful holiday feast thanks to Coe's efforts.

Some of the funds raised were used to purchase 70 turkeys; 35 turkeys, as well as boxes of non-perishables were given to the Butterfly Effect Project, an organization geared to empowering young girls. The BEP handed out Thanksgiving dinners to 37 families, Coe said.

Another 35 turkeys, with 35 sets of non-perishables, were donated to the Crossover Christian Church, where 140 dinners were distributed, she added.

"This year we have had a an extraordinary assist from a remarkable local girl, Katie Coe," Chris Kelly, whose wife Lesaya is pastor of the church, wrote on Facebook. "For six weeks she has tirelessly collected the non-perishable foods for us and multiple other entities to help those less fortunate. We on the East End are so blessed to have her as part of the caring North Fork. Happy Thanksgiving."

Remaining funds, along with four large vehicles full of non-perishables went to Community Action of Southold Town, Coe said.

"It always feels good to give back in some way, but I’d like to quote a man who made a donation at IGA," she said. "When I thanked him he told me, 'I’m only doing my job. We’re all in this together, right?' I’ve always figured we should all do the part that we can, when we can, for those who can’t – and if there’s a day we can’t, someone else will be doing what they can."