Hampden DA, State Police team up with Wilbraham Big Y for Thanksgiving food drive

WILBRAHAM, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - The Massachusetts State Police and the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office are doing their part to support Rock 102′s Mayflower Marathon with a food drive of their own.

The Hampden District Attorney’s Office and Massachusetts State Police teamed up at the Big Y in Wilbraham with one goal in mind: fill the back of the State Police Detective Unit with as much food as possible to help put food on the table for those who are less fortunate this Thanksgiving.

“Every year, we’ve done this for 5 or 6 years now, every year the support is overwhelming,” said Hampden DA spokesman Jim Leydon. “Usually, we fill up this State Police van here full of non-perishable items that we in turn donate down to Mayflower Marathon.”

Leydon added that their food drive collects hundreds of thousands of items every year.

Big Y Store Director Derek Kaczowski told Western Mass News that the partnership between the store and law enforcement makes donating easier for shoppers.

“We just need to make it as simple as possible for our customers to be able to donate to this great event,” he said. “It’s a great partnership that we have to be able to collect items for the less fortunate, to be able to feed their families for Thanksgiving.”

Leydon told Western Mass News that he hopes their efforts make a difference this holiday season.

“It just makes you feel good to kind of do a small part during the season,” he said. “During these extraordinary times, a lot of people out there going without a lot and looking forward to just doing our part to help people during the season.”

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