Casa de Peregrinos distributes 4,500 turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Twenty months into the pandemic, thousands of Las Cruces families demonstrated the demand for food is still great in southern New Mexico.

"This is something we've never done," said Lorenzo Alba Jr., the executive director of Casa de Peregrinos food bank. "It's pretty unprecedented."

Volunteers worked to distribute 4,500 turkeys to the Las Cruces community on the southeast corner of New Mexico State University on Monday. The food bank had a goal of feeding up to 2,100 Doña Ana County families during the 'Hope for the Holidays' food and turkey drive.

"It's actually a blessing because the community is looking for something that they can't afford or don't have," Alba Jr. said.

"It feels great," said Amanda Kmetz, who volunteered to help. "We're doing something that matters for people who matter."