If you want to participate in a local Thanksgiving tradition, the Park City Board of Realtors Turkey Drive is happening this week.
It’s been a couple decades since the Park City Board of Realtors started the project to make sure no one goes hungry during the Thanksgiving holiday. Board of Realtors Turkey Drive organizer Deb Hartley says they have a goal of collecting 2,600 turkeys this year.
“Since the inception of the Turkey Drive, we have collected over 35,000 turkeys which is pretty impressive. But here's an even bigger metric number--if we take that each Turkey feeds six people for Thanksgiving dinner and we know it feeds more but we just go with that metric, this year, if we collect the 2,600 turkeys were on slated for, our little Turkey drive which is the biggest in the state of Utah, will have fed more than 1/4 of a million people for Thanksgiving dinner. And we are over the moon. So thrilled and so happy with the Realtors and the community at large that support this year after year.”
Hartley says in normal conditions, one in five children go to bed hungry at night. With COVID impacts on families, she says the need is growing exponentially. She says about 1000 turkeys will be distributed in Summit and Wasatch Counties through the Christian Center.
“More than any year, there are so many families in peril and so many families in need. We used to give 850 turkeys to the Christian Center, but this year they need 1,000. So, the need just keeps growing exponentially and we are providing to other food banks in the state of Utah so they can deliver them by Thanksgiving Day. Like 1,100 go to Tabatha's Way. There's another 300 that go to another food bank. People are calling me in August and September wanted to know for going to Turkey drive so this has really hit the map.”
Hartley says the drive is more important now than ever but they’re taking measures to be as safe as possible.
“We love to do the shopping for you. You certainly can come to The Market at Park City but this year we're taking every safety protocol. Usually we have 6 to 8 Turkey Drive members out there. We’re only gonna have two to three this year. We are going to insist that the food banks that are coming to pick up the turkeys bring their own braun because we're not going to load them this year. So, we're doing everything as safe as possible. See the new Turkey Drive mask we have. It says give hunger the bird. We are all wearing masks of course, hand sanitizer. We’re doing everything with safe protocols.”
If you want to donate in person, they’ll be at the Market At Park City Thursday through Saturday. Or go to parkcityturkey.info and click the donate button or use the QR code. They’re hoping to raise $40,000 to buy all the Turkeys. Additionally, there are bags of groceries that range from $12 to $16.
