Large crowd attends LeMoyne Center food distribution

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Volunteer Emily Sanner with Candis Dillie, of Washington.

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A crowd of about 1,000 people came to the LeMoyne Community Center Saturday.

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People began lining up at 6:30 a.m.

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Distributing turkeys are Washington & Jefferson College students, from left, senior Kelly Maloney, of Pittsburgh; senior Brenda Sanchez, of Houston, Texas; senior Noah Flowers, of Uniontown; sophomore Brandon Ray, of Apollo, and junior Molly Schoch, of Burgettstown.

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Katelyn Siccolella of Washington collects merchandise from volunteer Kim Morsee.

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Volunteer Shari Garbriel with some of the merchandise available.

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Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. (3) catches a touchdown pass over Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley during the fourth quarter.

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Typically, the second Saturday of the month is busy at the LeMoyne Community Center but this past Saturday drew even a bigger crowd for its monthly food distribution.

People started lining up as early as 6:30 a.m. for fresh produce, canned goods, non-perishables and dairy products, as well as 500 turkeys which were given away. “On a normal month, we probably serve about 125-130 families,” said Trish Robinson, program director, shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday. “I think we’ve exceeded that already. Everybody has been so gracious. We want to make sure everybody has not just what they need, but more than enough, not just for them but maybe for their neighbors.”

Both Robinson and Teresa Burroughs, executive director, said the government shutdown prompted more people to come to the center this month.

“Everything they would need for Thanksgiving, we have it,” Burroughs said.

There were several volunteers on hand and several organizations had representatives at the center passing out food, along with students from Waynesburg and Washington & Jefferson.

“It takes a village and the village showed up today to help us make a difference in the community,” Burroughs said.