Farmington Valley Supermarkets Hosting Massive Thanksgiving Food Drive This Week

SIMSBURY/CANTON/GRANBY/BLOOMFIELD, CT — Supermarkets in four central Connecticut towns are hosting a massive turkey and food drive to help Connecticut Foodshare help those challenged economically this Thanksgiving.

The annual "Jack Bannan Memorial Turkey Trot" will take place this Wednesday, Nov. 19, at multiple supermarkets in the Farmington Valley region.

There, folks are being asked to trot over to the supermarkets and celebrate "33 years of neighbors helping neighbors."

The goal is to help CT Foodshare collect 3,300 turkeys, 16,000 pounds of non-perishable food, and $33,000.

The massive food drive will take place that day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with volunteers stationed at the following supermarkets:

• Fitzgerald's Foods — Simsbury, 710 Hopmeadow St.

• Stop & Shop — Simsbury, 498 Bushy Hill Road.

• Geissler's Supermarket— Bloomfield, 40 Tunxis Ave.

• Geissler's Supermarket — Granby, 9J Bank St.

• Stop & Shop — Granby, 120 Salmon Brook St.

• ShopRite of Canton — Canton, 110 Albany Turnpike (Route 44).

According to the event's Facebook page, Bannan was a beloved, long-time educator and volunteer in the town of Simsbury.

He taught sixth-grade for 32 years before his retirement in 1989, and is "still fondly remembered as a favorite teacher by hundreds of Farmington Valley residents whose lives he touched."

He served five terms as an elected selectman in Simsbury and volunteered with the VFW, American Legion, St. Mary Church of Simsbury, Knights of Columbus, Lions Club, Civitan, Meals on Wheels, McLean, The Greater Hartford Labor Council, and many other organizations and fundraisers.

Bannon was named a Simsbury Hometown Hero in 1987.

In addition, he was a US Army veteran and former prisoner of war in World War II, serving in Europe during WWII. He was captured during the Battle of the Bulge.

"Recalling suffering from extreme starvation as a POW, and to honor his late wife, he founded the Farmington Valley Turkey Trot in 1983, collecting turkeys, all the fixings, and cash donations at Thanksgiving to benefit Connecticut Foodshare, so everyone would have a Thanksgiving Dinner to enjoy," reads the event's Facebook page.

His Daughter, Marianne Bannan, has continued the tradition since Bannan died in 2013.

For more information on donations and collections, click on this link.