The Summit Hill Sons of American Legion Post 316 and Summit Hill Food Pantry know the meaning of Thanksgiving.

The two organizations teamed up again this year to help families who have fallen on hard times.Because of this, about 130 Summit Hill families in need will be able to have a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings on Nov. 22.Earlier this week, Joe Zubek, finance officer of the SAL, presented Rose Marie Armon, director of the Summit Hill Food Pantry, with a check for $2,000 to offset the cost of purchasing 130 frozen turkeys for the upcoming holiday.Armon said the money will cover the cost of all the frozen birds, as well as offset some of the costs for stuffing and other extras that are usually found on the Thanksgiving menu."This is going to make a lot of people happy," Armon said of the donation.The Sons of American Legion have been donating to the food pantry for the frozen birds on Thanksgiving since before Armon became director in 1997.Armon couldn't commend the group enough for their generosity over the years.Zubek said the donation is the organization's annual community project."We are happy that we can give this donation annually to help offset the cost for the turkeys," he said. "We know there are people in our community who would not have a Thanksgiving meal on their table otherwise and that's not right. Everyone deserves to have a good Thanksgiving."To raise the money for this donation, the group holds a number of fundraisers throughout the year.When the Thanksgiving program began nearly two decades ago, 55 families received food packages for Thanksgiving. But rising food costs and tough economic times have continuously pushed the number of families in need up to nearly 150.The Summit Hill Food Pantry is a division of Shepherd House, an entity that contracts with government agencies to receive state and federal funding to help the needy. Shepherd House provides some nonperishable food items, but the majority of food distributed in the borough is donated by Summit Hill residents.Armon noted that the volunteers at the pantry are thankful for the generosity of the churches and organizations in the Summit Hill community because each group has donated either food, money or time to help feed families in need over the years.Anyone interested in donating food items or money to the Summit Hill Food Pantry, located in the basement of the Summit Hill Heritage Center, or becoming involved with the group, should contact Armon at (570) 645-3604, or Sandra Hill, (570) 645-4617.