For veterans, a pre-Thankgiving turkey in Sayville means 'thank you'

When Ingrid Alexander returned home from the war in Afghanistan in 2002, she couldn’t afford a place to live. After four years in the U.S. Navy, completing her service in the Persian Gulf with the "Red Rippers" fighter squadron, she found herself couch-surfing with relatives in Brooklyn, working two jobs to make ends meet while in school.

"I had to join a gym just to take a shower," said Alexander, who now lives in Yaphank and works for the state Department of Veterans' Services in Northport.

On Sunday, Alexander, now 46, joined several hundred other vets and their families in Sayville for receipt of a pre-Thanksgiving show of military appreciation: A free turkey at the Community Ambulance Company, which sponsored the event at its headquarters, with the help of several other businesses and agencies.

Parents of fallen service members, high school students and other volunteers formed an assembly line early Sunday morning — hand warmers in tow — to distribute 330 turkeys, stuffing, corn and mashed potatoes.

The annual event includes the distribution of "free 10-14 pound turkeys as a gesture of gratitude to honor the unwavering service of military families and veterans," says a message on the ambulance company's website.

The idea began when 25-year volunteer ambulance worker Jamie Atkinson was running a summer food drive at a Sayville food pantry.

"We noticed a lot of veterans were coming to get food," Atkinson said Sunday. "So we figured, they’re probably having trouble around the holidays too."

Steven Castleton, 68, a volunteer who on Sunday spent much of his time directing traffic into and out of a parking lot, said current and former service members, including two of his three children, have left the state because of the high cost of living.

Since 2020, more than 800,000 residents in total have left New York, the most of any state by share of population, citing concerns over "affordability" and noneconomic reasons such as a desire to be near family or trimming back their daily commutes, according to a Newsday story in September.

"You don’t join the military to make a fortune, but you want to be able to put food on your table," Castleton said. "Veterans are leaving New York in droves because they can’t afford to live here. It’s unconscionable."

The volunteer ambulance company split the cost of the turkeys with Suffolk Credit Union, Wayward Kitchen & Cocktails, Northwell Health and Dash Simplified Solutions, Atkinson said.

In the parking lot afterward, Alexander loaded a turkey into her car.

She works with veterans on Long Island as a benefits adviser for the state Department of Veterans’ Services.

It's a demanding job so getting help around the holiday season, and also being recognized for her military service decades later, made Sunday special, she said.

“Sometimes I’m so busy that I don’t even have time to go to the grocery store … This means a great deal to me,” she said.