Turkey Drive Recap

2023 Turkey Drive Recap – November 24

As we reflect on this year’s turkey drives, we want to share our gratitude. A community of volunteers, food pantries, agriculture partners and donors joined hands to distribute 6,800 Thanksgiving meals to neighbors in need in Spokane, the Mid-Columbia and Yakima Valley. To each of you, we say thank you.

This year’s meal box distributions were different than years past. To better serve people facing hunger, we met them in their neighborhoods. Instead of distributing thousands of Thanksgiving meal boxes on a single day in one location, 24 partner food banks distributed them over several days, closer to recipients’ homes. Working families and seniors wanting to secure a meal box no longer had to start lining up at 4 a.m., waiting in long lines and burning expensive gasoline to keep warm.

“This is a big thing for us, because inflation is so bad that we are running low on everything,” Ivonne shared before picking up a turkey drive box at Second Harvest partner food bank St. Vincent de Paul in Pasco. The ingredients provided more than just a meal for her family of five, they also provided a sense of community during a challenging time.  “Thank you so much, Second Harvest,” Ivonne said. “It means a lot to us, and we are so, so thankful for all the people that have contributed to make this possible for all the people that need it, like my family.”

John, who visited the KREM Cares Tom’s Turkey Drive distribution Monday at the Medical Lake Food Bank, said inflation has forced him and his wife to make tough choices. The meal box will make a difference. “This helps immensely,” John explained. “Instead of going out and spending the money on a turkey, I can put it toward something else that my kids and my wife need; that’s what matters. I’ve been on the other side, so this has been a humbling experience for me. Being humbled is good.”

We’re thankful for every supporter who helped Second Harvest provide Thanksgiving meal boxes to our community food bank partners. From the agriculture and financial donors who provided the food, to the people who volunteered their time to pack boxes and encourage shoppers to make donations.

This year, Second Harvest will distribute 35 million pounds of food — equal to 80,000 daily meals — throughout the 26 counties we serve. That’s the same amount that we distributed in 2022, and roughly 2 million more pounds than in 2019, the year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While this year’s turkey drive distributions were different, one thing remained the same: community members worked together to help food insecure neighbors create Thanksgiving memories.

With support from our partners at KREM 2, Rosauers Supermarkets, Dairy Farmers of Washington and Itron in the Spokane area, and Lamb Weston processors and U-Pull-It Auto Parts in the Mid-Columbia and Yakima Valley, we were able to provide holiday meal boxes for 6,800 local families.

Another generous partner, Amazon, helped set the table for impact. As the KREM CaresTom’s Turkey Drive matching sponsor for the second year in a row, Amazon inspired community-wide generosity. Their support spans our service area, where their donation as our Golden Turkey sponsor of our Mid-Columbia Valley Turkey Drive was transformed into food for the special holiday meal. What began with generous financial support has expanded to include the helping hands and feet of local Amazon team members volunteering in efforts that bring greater food security across the Inland Northwest. We’re appreciative of the many ways Amazon has stepped up for people facing hunger this year, including donating a semitruck load of food following the devastating Gray and Oregon Road fires. 

To everyone who shared their time, financial support and food, Second Harvest sincerely says thank you.

CONTACT US
FOOD NEAR ME
DONATE
VOLUNTEER

facebookinstagramtwitterlinkedinyoutubetiktok

Feeding Eastern Washington and North Idaho

Copyright 2020 Second Harvest. All rights reserved.

ABOUT US
NONPROFIT INFO
CAREERS
PROGRAMS