Marquette’s Backpack Program helps create a bounty of Friendsgiving memories for students far from home

Jiaqi "Violet" Wang

Before moving to the U.S. eight years ago from Beijing, China, Jiaqi "Violet" Wang had never experienced a Thanksgiving holiday. Her first traditional Thanksgiving stateside was in 2019 with her host family in Illinois. But because of the lengthy drive, the 22-year-old decided to start her own special Friendsgiving dinner with a small group of students who stayed on campus.

"The best moment last year was when I picked up the turkey and called my friends," the graduate student in data science explains. "I said to them, 'We need to do a little Friendsgiving!'"

Wang met at a friend's apartment where they did all the turkey day prep work- from thawing out the big bird and cooking it, to creating all the side dishes like green bean casserole and potatoes. She says it was harder than it looked.

Jiaqi "Violet" Wang (Right) with her friend at Thanksgiving last year.

"I was so confused on how to prep the turkey," Wang says with a smile. "I thought, I might need some help. My friend had to look up how to cook it online. We had to defrost the turkey and then put butter around it. That was horrible because we had to go under the skin."

Although she enjoys all the food that's prepared for the meal, her favorite part of the American holiday is the friendship that's being nurtured and celebrated.

All these wonderful memories wouldn't have been possible without the help of the Marquette Backpack Program's turkey drive. Wang received a free turkey for the past several years and says it's such a blessing.

Christine Little, manager of campus food recovery and assistance, says for the past four years they have gotten an allotment of 12 turkeys from Feeding America. A signup sheet is then sent out to Backpack Program participants to request a turkey.

"I think it is a great way to support students. It provides a lot of meat that they can cook or even freeze for meals," Little says. "Meat is often challenging for us to acquire from Feeding America due to the cost and availability. I love that we can provide a whole turkey for our students, and I hope that they are able to host a dinner with their friends and family."

Little says they have seen the number of student visits to the pantry more than double recently, so they decided to raise funds specifically for turkeys to help alleviate the cost. She says students are always thrilled when they receive a free bird, especially international students who enjoy hosting a traditional American holiday dinner.

Reflecting, Wang says she considers this the best time of year.

"It's not just about the food but the moments when we can all be in the kitchen talking, laughing and then making the turkey. Those are the moments that I will remember the most."

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