Thousands of Newark families had reason to give thanks this week.

City and school officials, aided by New Jersey businesses and a former New York Giants star, organized holiday food distributions ahead of Thanksgiving Day .

On Thursday, one week before the 162-year-old national November harvest celebration , the Newark Public Schools district distributed 140 turkeys at John F. Kennedy High School, a district-wide secondary school for students with special needs, a district spokesman said.

Retired Giants defensive lineman Jay Alford helped out at the event.

Alford, an Essex County native from nearby Orange, is best known for his game-ending sack of Patriots Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLII . That play clinched the Giants’ 17-14 win to cap the 2007 season.

Other volunteers included

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