The Essex County sheriff's office's 26th annual drive was Tuesday.
NEWARK -- More than 300 needy families in New Jersey will sit down to Thanksgiving dinner Thursday, thanks to a turkey hand out from a New Jersey sheriff's office.
Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura was joined by officers from his department Tuesday for its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive for Needy Families and the Homeless. This year's drive marked the 26th year that the department handed out holiday meals to St. John's Soup Kitchen in Newark and 15 other area food pantries.
Altogether, the department handed out more than 300 donated turkeys and about a ton of Thanksgiving food.
"We want to bring attention to these folks," Fontoura said during the handout. "This is a year-round need."
St. John's provides more than 700 meals to hungry locals each day, which is collects mostly from donation drives and doles out via a volunteer work force.
Fr. Bismarck Chau, the pastor at St. John's, called the sheriff's office food drive a "blessing."
"(I see) so many people coming in here needing comfort...and this is it."
Patti Sapone may be reached at psapone@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @psapone. Find NJ.com on Facebook.