Watertown— According to the U.S Census Bureau September 12th, 2012 statistics, approximately $46.2 million people (15% of the U.S. population) were reported to be living in poverty in 2011.
ABC50 spoke with Drew Mangione, Director of the Watertown Urban Mission a local mission that has several programs which help the community combat poverty. The Urban Mission has a food pantry which helps approximately 650 families monthly. During the winter months, added costs due to rising heating bills takes a toll on local Watertown residents, said Mangione.
Although, the Mission does not serve hot Thanksgiving meals, they do provide Thanksgiving meals for low income families to cook. From turkeys to traditional Thanksgiving meal fixings, Mr. Mangione said, “We depend upon the generosity of our community and volunteers to give people an opportunity to have a Thanksgiving at home.” Pepsi donated drinks and volunteers to help with the distribution.
