The Emergency Assistance Office of Mount Carmel Guild, Trenton, has issued a list of preferred donated foodstuffs to prepare for its annual Thanksgiving Program to families of area needy. In attempt to fill the bags uniformly, the Guild is requesting the following items:

• Turkeys weighing 12 to 16 lbs.

•  Gift cards to area supermarkets or large grocery retailers (ShopRite, Acme, Stop & Shop, Thriftway, Wegmans, Pathmark, WalMart, Target, etc.)

•  Monetary donations (checks may be made out to Mount Carmel Guild/Food Donation)

•  Packaged goods such as instant mashed potatoes or rice; stuffing; cake mix and icing; tea, coffee or cocoa; canned or shelf stable milk

•  Canned goods such as cranberry sauce; yams; fruit; turkey gravy, vegetables

Donors are asked not to donate expired, dented or rusted cans; open or expired boxes or bags; breakable bottles or cellophane bags. Fresh produce for the drive is provided by the food bank or is purchased.

The Mount Carmel Guild program aims to give small families one full bag of food and a turkey; larger families may receive two or three bags and a turkey. Traditionally, the Guild program assists between 700 and 800 families each Thanksgiving.

To schedule a donation time at their North Clinton Avenue, Trenton, location, please contact the Guild’s Emergency Assistance Office at 609-392-3402 or Sister Loretta Maggio, program director, at [email protected].

For further information on the Thanksgiving donation program, including a list of the foodstuffs requested, or to donate funds, see http://mtcarmelguild.org.