This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

NEW YORK -- As more than 1,000 fans streamed through the Citi Field team store last week, donating a record 13,000-plus pounds of food to the Food Bank for New York City, Mets staffers tried to analyze what had gone so right. Were their marketing efforts working that well? Were people simply feeling extra charitable this year?

Or had the Mets’ extended postseason run elevated their brand in the eyes of many, creating a closer relationship between the club and its fans?

“I’m sure it was a combination of it being the holidays but also the team having finished on such a strong, high note,” said Jane Son, head of foundation and community engagement. “It’s great that, certainly from a foundation and community perspective, we’re benefiting from fan excitement of wanting to support the team -- and, as we head into the holidays, the community.”

This year’s MetsGiving initiatives have been as ambitious as ever, beginning with the aforementioned food drive on Nov. 19. Later that week, the Mets received a surprise invitation to ring the Nasdaq opening bell, with former Mets captain John Franco doing the honors to spread MetsGiving awareness. Franco subsequently drove to the New York Common Pantry in Harlem, where he handed out turkeys to families in need. For the rest of that day, Mets employees fanned out around the five boroughs to donate 8,500 turkeys -- another record for an annual team initiative.

“We’re home here in Queens, but we also want to make sure we’re supporting others that need it in the other boroughs,” Son said. “We want the city to know we’re here for them.”

It’s a charge that will continue for another month, with three more events scheduled: a public coat drive on Dec. 11, followed by the Amazin’ Mets Foundation’s Holiday Dinner for local families in need on Dec. 18, and the team’s annual Kids’ Holiday Party on Dec. 19. Another Mets alumnus, Todd Zeile, will play Santa Claus this year at the party.

“We’re grateful that we’ve got alumni that are looking to give back to the community and be there with us to continue to support them,” Son said, “even though they’re no longer playing for the team.”

The coat drive, now in its 18th year, figures to see the same spike in attendance as the Mets’ food drive, considering it also includes an opportunity for donors to receive tickets to a 2025 weekday home game. In that fashion, the Mets hope their on-field success will continue to aid their philanthropic efforts off it.

“Obviously, just always looking to give back to the community,” Son said. “The holidays are a tough time for a lot of people, more so this year. And I know every year, everybody says it. But we’re just really focused on helping the community during this time.”