Meat raffle adds to regional food drive’s savings

MILLERTON — An estimated $5,000 raised through a meat raffle benefiting the Sunday in the Country Food Drive puts the group in as strong a financial position as its ever been prior to its busy fall and winter seasons.For more than a decade, Sunday in the Country has provided holiday meals to local families in need through more than a dozen food pantries in the Tri-state area. Last year $50,000 was raised, and thousands of Thanksgiving and Christmas meals have been provided to families over the past few years alone.Traditionally, the majority of the organization’s fundraising events are held in the late summer and fall seasons, but as demand from food pantries has increased and a slow economy has stunted donations, the group has been adding benefit events to its calendar in the earlier months, making the effort truly a year-round affair.More than 1,000 tickets were sold for the meat raffle, with six lucky people taking home prizes as follows:Sixth place: Karen McGinness, Dover: 10 lbs. hamburger, 10 lbs. sausage, 10 lbs. chickenFifth place: Betty Surdam, Salisbury: 15 lbs. hamburger, 15 lbs. sausage, 15 lbs. chickenFourth place: Kim Sherwood, Salisbury: 20 lbs. hamburger, 20 lbs. sausage, 20 lbs. chickenThird place: Lisa Randolph, Wassaic: whole lambSecond place: Lion Rock Farm, Sharon: whole pigFirst place: Frank Love, West Stockbridge: side of beefThe final tally for the food drive will be the profits made after the costs of purchasing the meat have been realized, but food drive organizer John Bonhotel said the event was “definitely a success, even if the economy is not quite what it was last year.”This is the second year that an early-in-the-year meat raffle has been held, but the Sunday in the Country group, an informal collection of local volunteers, has been busy. It collected about $2,000 through food sales during the Salisbury Winter Sports Association’s ski jumps earlier this year as well as hosting an ice fishing tournament in Sharon that brought in about $1,300.“By May we should have close to $8,000,” estimated food drive founder and radio personality “NASCAR” Dave MacMillan. “That’s going to be quite a head start for us.”The food drive struggled a bit last year, MacMillan added, explaining that while every family that signed up to receive a meal last year got one, the group had to cut back a bit on the different food items that were distributed.“My goal is to head into the dinner dance [by far the group’s biggest event] with about $15,000. If we can do that, we’ll be in great shape,” he said. “So that’s the plan unless food pantries come to us early for help. If somebody comes to us and says they are in dire straits, well, that’s what we’re there for in the first place.”To contribute to the food drive, mail checks to Sunday in the Country Food Drive, PO Box 789, Millerton, NY 12546.