More than 300 households across the Greater Meadowlands Region received a Thanksgiving basket complete with a turkey, trimmings, and sweet treats, thanks to the volunteer efforts of Basket Brigade 2024.
An effort of The Construction Resources Group of the Meadowlands Chamber since 2012 following Superstorm Sandy, every year members and their families join community volunteers to help assemble, wrap, and deliver the meal baskets to households in need.
The North Jersey Friendship House started facilitating the undertaking in 2014, donating its Hackensack facility to serve as ground zero. The all-volunteer effort begins months ahead of time, with Meadowlands Chamber Board Member Anthony Guzzo of Guzzo Architects, Lyndhurst, heading the effort since 2012.
Assisted by Meadowlands Chamber Board Member Dennis Mikula of Mikula Contracting, Clifton, they start by coordinating logistics, donations, and volunteers leading up to the big day the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
Aside from the many people, cars, and vans it takes to pull off this operation, it requires a lot more in both monetary and food donations to ensure baskets are filled. Over the years as inflation soared and the price of food skyrocketed, the cost of filling a Thanksgiving basket has become even harder.
The undertaking is truly a multiple group and many hands effort, with volunteers like Keith Kirk’s Eveready Express dropping off materials ahead of time, Holiday Inn Hasbrouck Heights donating turkey baking trays.
“Witnessing the collective effort of many of our own Construction Resources Group volunteers and the community was truly inspiring. We came together to spread joy and hope, engaging in various activities, from assembling baskets to delivering meals. Every step reminded me of the power of giving and the impact we can create when we act with purpose,” Mikula said on social media.
Each basket contained a 10-pound turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, pie, and candy. It also comes with a note (in English or Spanish): “This comes to you from someone who cares about you. All we ask is that you take care of yourself well enough to be able to do this for someone else one day.”
Author, motivational speaker, and coach Tony Robbins started Basket Brigade in 1977 as a mission to feed two families. His foundation has grown to an international effort to provide food and household items to people around the globe.
Representatives from his team came to MC Headquarters earlier in November, armed with donations to help kick off Basket Brigade in the Greater Meadowlands Region.
“The magic of Basket Brigade isn’t just the food — it’s the joy of giving and the message it sends: You are not alone,” Robbins said on LinkedIn.
Robbins’s was inspired to launch the program after experiencing kindness from a stranger as a child when a Thanksgiving meal was delivered to his family, at the time suffering from food insecurity.
“We had no idea it was coming, and that simple act didn’t just fill our plates — it filled my heart with hope. It showed me that STRANGERS CARE. That moment changed my life and sparked a lifelong mission to give back,” Robbins said.
