At least three thousand fewer needy families will receive Thanksgiving baskets this year after The Epworth Foundation lost a major corporate sponsor.

But the Feed-a-Family program, which was inspired by philanthropist, “Daddy” Bruce Randolph, will still provide turkey and the trimmings to 5,000 families, thanks to donations from businesses and individuals, said L.J. Harker, Epworth grant writer.

The organization announced on Oct. 20 that it needed to raise $250,000 for the annual holiday program.

“We did have one sponsor who gave us a considerable amount,” said the Rev. King Harris, who organizes the distribution, but much of the about $80,000 now on hand came from smaller donors.

Harker estimates that about 40,000 people will be fed when the baskets are distributed. Last year the foundation fed 64,000.

Randolph began feeding people for free in City Park on Thanksgiving Day in the late-1960s. By the mid-1980s, tens of thousands lined up outside Daddy Bruce’s B-B-Q, 1629 E. 34th Ave., now Bruce Randolph Avenue, for the holiday meal.

The Epworth Foundation, which took over the tradition after Bruce’s death in 1994, traditionally provides more than 8,000 Thanksgiving baskets to families from Fort Lupton to Colorado Springs. The baskets feed about eight people and weigh about 40 to 45 pounds and include a turkey, potatoes, onions, cornbread, beans and cake.

Community members have been helping raise awareness of the program’s need by writing letters and otherwise alerting small businesses, Harker said.

“Denver is fortunate that we have had a growth in small and independent businesses. A lot of people don’t know what it takes to distribute this many baskets,” she said.

Those who receive the baskets are pre-screened by social agencies, Harris said. Those agencies, which include the Denver Housing Authority, have been told to cut their requests by 35 percent.

It is unlikely that enough money will be donated before Thanksgiving to feed as many people as in the past, unless someone pays to advertise the need daily, Harris said.

In 2003, when there was a funding shortfall, Clear Channel provided advertising, which boosted donations, he said. “If somebody decides to do that, then it is possible.”

Donations can be made at epworthfoundation.org or by calling the foundation at 303-296-6287. Checks can be mailed to The Epworth Foundation, 1865 Bruce Randolph Ave., Denver, Co 80205.

Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671, tmcghee@denverpost.com or @dpmcghee