Conduit Ministries and its partners have set quite a goal for themselves this Thanksgiving season.

The Jamestown church is partnering with Bemus Point Methodist Church to raise enough money to provide 1,500 Thanksgiving meals to the community. Bemus Point members have already raised more than $50,000 for the effort.

It’s a big goal that fills a big need in the community. Kudos to church leadership for seeing the need and starting early to try to help. And a heartfelt thank you to church members in both congregations who have dug deep into their pockets and who have given freely of their time to coordinate such a large effort.

It’s heartbreaking that the goal for the Jamestown community at large is even bigger than the one Conduit and Bemus Point Methodist Church have set. Reaching the 1,500 meal goal doesn’t take into account the meals that will be provided by the Salvation Army, local food pantries located in churches throughout the area or other charitable organizations too numerous to mention in a confined space like this.

We highlighted some of those organizations recently in a Page 1 story by Christopher Blakeslee. The UCAN City Mission is looking for help with several items as well as for its own Thanksgiving dinner. The chances are good your child has been asked to help collect goods from around the house for a food drive at their school. There are small food pantries in churches throughout the area that are struggling to meet the needs they see each month. In short, there are a lot of ways to help in this week before Thanksgiving – and after that in the run-up to Christmas.

There was a lot of discussion and debate earlier this year about the plight of the homeless in the Jamestown area. Lost in some of those loud, poignant discussions is the realization that we live in a high-poverty area where many in our midst need a helping hand, especially during the holiday season. We don’t often talk about the effects of poverty until this time of year – and then we find ourselves struck with a reminder of just how big a problem we have. This year, the stark reminder is the realization that providing 1,500 Thanksgiving dinners is just a start.