Perhaps no holiday centers around the concept of the feast quite like Thanksgiving. Certainly, the annual tradition of gathering around the turkey is one taken seriously at All Faiths Food Bank, which this week has distributed some 7,000 turkeys to needy families and to organizations feeding the underprivileged.

“Thanksgiving is all about sharing with family friends,” said Sandra Frank, All Faiths Food Bank CEO. “It is about being grateful of the gifts bestowed upon us, and nobody should be left out of that. Everyone should have a nutritious Thanksgiving meal.”

The food bank over the last several days has accomplished a logistical challenge in putting thousands of bags of sides and frozen 14-pound poultry into the hands of those who otherwise might go hungry. Much of that has been through distribution to various community partners from churches to health and human services agencies. But 90 percent of the distributed birds were put directly into the hands of clients out of food bank freezers, Frank said.

A special voucher system was executed this year to speed up the distribution process at an event this weekend, allowing many being served to drive a vehicle to the food bank and exchanging a slip of paper for the holiday meal without having to leave the car. The vouchers were distributed by partner agencies, food bank officials said, as those organizations were best situated to judge who was truly in need. The food bank also held special events like a Veterans Pantry on Tuesday to serve special populations.

A number of agencies took turkeys for their own events. The Salvation Army in Sarasota, for example, hosts a special Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday that starts at 10am and runs to 3pm, and the food bank provides food for that event.

In total, Frank said various Thanksgiving efforts collectively by the bank cost a total of $120,000. A big chunk of that, $35,000, comes from a grant by the Kathleen K. Catlin Foundation, but the bulk comes from small private donations by individuals directly to the food bank. 

Pictured: Riverview High students help distribute turkeys for Thanksgiving as part of an effort by All Faiths Food Bank to feed area families. 

Community organizers held a rally Tuesday in support of the people of Ferguson, Missouri and against police brutality and racially-motivated violence following a grand jury’s decision on Monday not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the death of black teenager Michael Brown.

“We are protesting an epidemic of racist police brutality across the United States that has claimed the lives of thousands of young black and brown children and people,” said local activist Bryan Ellis, who organized the rally with the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), a national organization assisting civil rights and anti-war protests around the country.

Though sparked by recent events, Ellis held the protest was about the bigger story in which Ferguson is only the latest tragic chapter.

“There’s less of a focus on the minutiae of the trial and the verdict than there is anger and a lack of faith in the entire criminal justice system to uphold the rights of people of color," said Ellis.

Despite the rain, around 30 people attended, mostly students, grabbing signs from a weathered stack. Congregating under the pavilion in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park near Ringling College of Art and Design, Ellis opened the rally with impassioned exhortations, calling upon the community to see itself as “brothers and sisters” across the country and stand against a police force and justice system he deemed brutal, authoritarian and deeply racist, citing systemic abuse and a disturbing pattern of violence against people of color.

To some, Sarasota and Bradenton have their own place in this pattern, as protesters carrying signs with the names Rodney Mitchell and Elias Guadarrama sought to remind.

“We are one. I know we are one,” said Natasha Clemons, Mitchell’s mother, to the gathered crowd. “Their blood is your blood.”

Mitchell, a 23-year old black man, was shot and killed by the police during a traffic stop in June 2012. The State Attorney's Office ultimately determined the shooting ws justified. And this last January Guadarrama, a 22-year old Hispanic man, fled from Manatee County police before officials say he committed suicide in a Bradenton neighborhood–something Omega Velez, Guadarrama’s mother, does not believe and Ellis calls “an execution.”

“The system is broken and they need to fix it,” said Velez who, along with her husband, brought handmade signs reading “Homicide Not Suicide.” “I want them to know that there’s people dying. I want change. I want justice for my son.”

The rally was largely a group discussion regarding the events in Ferguson and the need for change. None seemed shocked at the verdict, but there was no shortage of anger, contained as it was. Related issues, such as the growing militarization of community police forces, both in tactics and personnel, met with similar reactions.

At a call for solutions from Ellis, the crowd remained mostly silent, whether at a loss or lost in thought. A suggestion that officers wear video cameras on their person, to record any and all interactions with the public, was met with approval, as was mandatory racial sensitivity training.

But to expect an answer to such a complex question to emerge from one rally is not, according to Ellis, the exact point of the rally.

“We’re hoping to raise awareness in the wider community and shift the public dialogue to let people know that racism isn’t going to be tolerated anymore,” said Ellis. “But also to build our organization and possibly initiate a campaign of concrete reforms in Sarasota and Bradenton.”

Additional rallies are planned for the future. 

Derek’s Culinary Casual was a bright spot in the perpetually up-and-coming landscape of Downtown Sarasota’s Rosemary District for seven years. The definition of destination dining, Derek Barnes' inventive, award-winning cuisine relied on flavor, rather than foot traffic, to establish a devoted local following. When Derek decided to relocate his restaurant in 2013, I mourned the loss of one of my favorite neighborhood eateries but looked forward to the establishment of a new location in West Bradenton. Circumstance had prevented me from visiting Derek’s Rustic, Coastal, Cuisine until recently and I’m happy to report Derek’s new location and menu does not disappoint. We visited on a Monday, which our server informed us is Laundry Day, a New Orleans ritual whereby women put on a big pot of red beans and rice to cook all day whilst tending to laundry and other household chores. We opted for an intensely flavorful Roasted Pumpkin Bisque that warmed down to the soul and a twist on a Caprese Salad featuring creamy burrata, fresh strawberries and arugula. 

Derek's Rustic, Coastal, Cuisine, 5516 Manatee Avenue West, Bradenton, 941-794-1100

Judd, Ulrich, Scarlett, Wickman and Dean has recently leased a 3,220-square-foot office suite at 713 S. Orange Avenue in Sarasota. Linda Emery of Sperry Van Ness Commercial Advisory Group represented the landlord while Jeff Cashmore with Robbins Realty represented the tenant. 

Judd Ulrich Law Firm

Yvonne Gooldy, sales associate with Michael Saunders and Company, will be awarded the Certified International Property Specialist designation and will join a worldwide network of elite global real estate practitioners with expertise in working with international clients. The CIPS Designation is awarded by the National Association of Realtors, which represents over 1.2 million Realtors in the United States.  

Michael Saunders Real Estate

SRQ | The Magazine is inspiring creative fitness in the area with a Roundtable dedicated to getting in shape and staying healthy. The Sports Revolution Roundtable showcases some of the region’s most intriguing sports and recreation both outdoors and indoors from paddle boarding and bicycling to soccer and triathlons, cutting-edge fitness facilities and the medical rehabilitation and wellness treatments supporting our drive to play. Join the Sports Revolution and encourage our audience to turn to your company to get fit this February. Use this opportunity to feature the way your company helps to keep bodies strong for the long haul. Space closes December 11, 2014. Contact the SRQ Magazine Advertising team today at GrowMyBusiness@srqmag.com.