VILLAGE OF MANLIUS – Showing that a charitable gesture on the local level can go a long way, members of the Manlius Police Department and their families continued a long-held tradition last week by delivering Thanksgiving dinners to area food banks.
Overall 130 meals were purchased by the department’s Police Benevolent Association and split between Fayetteville-Manlius and Minoa distribution centers before feeding a corresponding amount of families in those villages.
“For us, it’s just a way to give back to the community and help those that are in need during the holiday season,” said Officer Dan Tyrel, the president of the department’s union. “It’s about trying to help as many families as we can.”
All purchased in full from the Tops Friendly Market on West Seneca Street in Manlius, about half of the packaged meals included turkeys, with the other half containing hams. Each delivery also consisted of a bag of potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, canned vegetables, and ingredients for pies.
Accompanied by their family members, the group of police officers pulled up to the back of the store the afternoon of Nov. 22 and helped to place the banana boxes packed with delectables onto pallets before personally shipping them off to the food banks. Additionally, about 10 dinners were brought to a Meals on Wheels location that provides meals to homes throughout Onondaga County.
“I think it’s been an excellent gesture from the police department to not only think to get us involved in this but also to go above and beyond to deliver these meals to families in need on Thanksgiving,” said Katie Kowalski, the assistant store manager at the Manlius supermarket. “Especially with the times that we’re in right now and all the craziness with COVID and everything else going on with the way the world is working, I think it’s definitely a great thing.”
A member of the department for 16 years now, Tyrel said the annual delivery of Thanksgiving meals has been coordinated between the union and the Tops market since before he began his tenure at the station.
He said the partnership plays the same role as the department’s “Shop With a Cop” events at the Fayetteville Target store: to make this time of year more complete and enjoyable for the people they serve.