Time for Turlock to come together

She and other concerned citizens from across the city all turned to then-Mayor Curt Andre to find a solution.

“He put us in a room at City Hall and said you all have a problem,” she said.

The group eventually founded Turlock Together with one goal in mind: to help as many families as possible without duplicating efforts.

“And so it was born,” Murphy Julien said. “Community-minded people are coming together and asking how we can help these families.”

She said the program is more necessary now than ever.

“Rent has gone up, food has gone up, fuel has gone up. “Once you pay your utilities and rent, there’s not a lot of money left for food,” she said, sharing that some families have to choose between filling up their car’s gas tank or feeding the family.

How Turlock Together works is simple. Families or individuals (including seniors) can sign up to receive the holiday food boxes — one filled with perishable items like milk, cheese and chicken and one filled with non-perishable items like beans, peanut butter and spaghetti — at the Salvation Army or any Turlock location School locations. It doesn’t matter where a family registers, their names are stored in the same database so there are no duplicates. Families with small children also receive a toy for each child up to 10 years old.

Turlock Together collects donations of non-perishable food and new toys in the blue barrels placed at schools, churches and fire stations around the city and will be held at the City of Turlock’s Family Fun Nights on October 25 and November 15 at 6 p.m Turlock Regional Sports Complex, 4545 N. Kilroy Rd., behind Pitman High School. Non-perishable foods needed include: canned green beans, canned corn, canned green peas, canned tuna, canned soup, peanut butter and spaghetti.

The United Samaritans Foundation is accepting cash donations for Turlock Together. However, according to Murphy Julien, the annual food box raffle would not be possible without the efforts of the Turlock branch of the Central Valley Association of Realtors and its CanTree events. Last year, CVAR raised over $15,000 for Turlock Together with its CanTree Breakfast. Murphy Julien said all CanTree donations go directly toward purchasing perishable food items.

This year, the Realtors are hosting a tropical-themed CanTree dinner on November 1 at 5 p.m. at the Assyrian American Civic Club in Turlock. Tickets are $65 each and may be purchased by contacting Sheri Yagi at 209-605-3102 or [email protected] or Joanne Perez at 209-480-0927 or [email protected].

In recent years, Turlock Together has given away 1,200 boxes of food. In recent years there have been over 2,000. Turlock Together needs hundreds of volunteers to help sort donated items and prepare food boxes at the Turlock Fruit Company warehouse in advance of Food Box Distribution Day in mid-December. Individuals or small groups interested in volunteering can contact Salvation Army Captain Katie Breazeale at 209-667-6091 to register. Volunteer groups of 10 or more should contact Jeff Lorenzi at 209-620-6608.

“It’s fortunate that we have a community that comes together and gives back,” Murphy Julien said.