St. Matthew’s House Thanksgiving Dinner Seeks Donations

Christine Waldren’s Thanksgiving Day customs include one she hopes others will add to their turkey day routine: contributing side dishes to the Thanksgiving dinner St. Matthew's House charity provides for the economically disadvantaged. 

St. Matthew’s House is a Naples-based homeless shelter, food bank and substance abuse recovery program provider. The nonprofit prepares and serves at least 1,000 dinners a year, free of charge, to those who visit its Airport-Pulling Road main campus for the holiday dinner. Meals are also provided at the organization’s satellite campuses, as well as for some other organizations. 

Officials from the charity have said demand for the holiday meal and its services overall is increasing each year.

Waldren is among those who take part in the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors (MIAAOR) annual donation of side dishes for the St. Matthew’s House meal, started and spearheaded by fellow Marco Islander Bill Filbin. 

This is the 26th year the realtor will deliver trays of holiday favorites donated by Marco area residents, who bring them to the collection site - MIAAOR’S offices, located at 140 Waterway Drive. On recent Thanksgiving mornings, Filbin has dropped off 50 to 75 trays of side dishes. He’d love to eclipse those numbers. 

“The thing that worries me this year, and I'm happy for it, as well, is there are a lot of food donation organizations, if you notice,” he said. “So you know, I'd be happy with 50 trays.”

Waldren was unsure of exactly how long she’d been donating, but it may be since the very beginning. 

“You know, I just think it's a nice thing that Bill Filbin has done all these years, and it's for such a good cause,” she said. “It just seems like a way to contribute, and it's such a good cause that I do it Thanksgiving morning. That's the first thing that I do. I deliver the tray to the board of Realtors, and they do the rest. So it's easy.”

People are asked to donate disposable, covered trays of pre-cooked and reheatable side dishes, such as mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, baked yams, mashed and baked sweet potatoes, vegetables and other favorites, as well as boxed-up pies. Items that require refrigeration are discouraged, as are dishes with excess liquids.

Canned food and dry goods like rice, cereal, dry beans, pasta and other nonperishables are also for donation to the St. Matthew’s food bank. 

Donations can be dropped off from 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM on Thanksgiving morning, November 23rd, at MIAAOR’s office. Filbin then delivers the food to St. Matthew’s. Disposable trays can be picked up at MIAAOR headquarters or by calling or texting 239-370-8118, and Filbin will drop them off anywhere on the island. 

St. Matthew’s culinary staff prepares turkeys and hams in the main campus’ kitchen. However, the facility does not have enough ovens or stovetops to prepare all the necessary side dishes for the dinners. 

The effort has its beginnings in Filbin’s 30 years as a volunteer for the Special Olympics.

“It was a much smaller organization then and I gave them the food. Now I knew a place where to take my extra food from the Special Olympics. The following year, I went to the chef at Saint Matthew's and I said, ‘What do you need for Thanksgiving?’ And he said to me, ‘The biggest problem we have is we have no room in our ovens for side dishes. We cook turkeys and hams and chickens, but we don't have any room to cook side dishes. If we got someone to help us with the side dishes, it would really help us out.’ Well, that hasn't changed. They have some better equipment, but really, their room is limited.”

Need among the underprivileged is great, growing and nearby, observed Filbin. 

“We like to remind people that all they have to do is drive across the Marco Bridge, and you can see the differences in the economy, the people that need help,” he said. “There’s still a count of one out of six people going to bed hungry each night in Collier County. We'd like people to remember that.”

Traute Gentry is another regular donator to the side dish effort. She urged everyone to keep the needy in mind for Thanksgiving. 

“I am happy to be a part of the Marco Island Realtors and Bill Filbin's effort to help our neighbors at Saint Matthew's House,” she said. “It is a most important cause in the community to make sure no one goes hungry and we are able to help those in need.”

For more information about the Marco Island Area Association of Realtors Thanksgiving side dish food drive or to have a tray dropped off, call or text Bill Filbin at 370-8118. For more information about St. Matthew’s House, visit stmatthewshouse.org.