Thanksgiving is just a couple of weeks away, and the Bridgeport Rescue Mission is asking for help because its food drive this year has underperformed.

Organizers say the effort is the largest community outreach program in the region for Thanksgiving -- providing 3,200 families in Fairfield County with a turkey, a bag of fixings, and warm winter coats.

They say the Great Thanksgiving Project is important to a lot of struggling families, since it might be the only opportunity they have to make a home-cooked meal for the holiday.

Agency officials say donations are slow this year, and they are in need of turkeys, coats, and especially canned items like gravy, cranberry sauce and vegetables.

Officials say they think charitable donations have been focused on hurricane victims across the southern United States and the Caribbean instead.

"We should come together as a country, but because of that we've been seeing donations to the mission have been a little bit light," says Donna Romano, the mission's marketing director. "So we're reaching out again to ask, please help to make this Thanksgiving special to somebody in need, in your own backyard in Bridgeport."

Anyone interested in helping can visit the donation center at 1069 Connecticut Ave. Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

You can also head to the rescue mission's website, which allows you to buy a virtual turkey for $20.