"Food is the centerpiece of what we do at Thanksgiving," says Nate Springer, President and CEO of Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado. He means that literally. On November 20, Care and Share's annual Take a Turkey to Work Day will place thousands of turkeys on tables across southern Colorado. This year, the event is bigger than ever.
Care and Share serves 29 counties across Colorado, supporting 305 partner agency nonprofits ranging from the Red Cross to the Salvation Army to neighborhood food pantries. Last year, they distributed 21 million pounds of food. This Thanksgiving, they're aiming to do even more, including sending not just turkeys but the full Thanksgiving spread to partner agencies so the families they serve can sit down to a complete meal.
"We have the honor of supporting half the state," Springer says. "Those food pantries are the heroes of the story—helping neighbors in their communities every day."
Take a Turkey to Work Day is one of the highlights of the year for Care and Share, and the day that garners the most community involvement. From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Springer says they try to empty 11 Colorado Springs and Pueblo King Soopers and City Market locations of every turkey in stock.
“Our goal is to have to send people to other stores,” says Springer with a laugh, “or even accept other proteins, like a Thanksgiving ham.”
This year, the event added several new locations, including the King Soopers Marketplace in Fountain and Flying Horse. KKTV will broadcast all day from the Flying Horse location, with anchor Adam Atchison on hand the majority of the day. Thanks to a generous matching gift from the Abram and Ray Kaplan Foundation, every dollar donated on November 20 will be matched up to $50,000—meaning your $20 turkey becomes two.
For those who can’t make it out on November 20, a monetary donation of $20 at careandshare.org/turkey goes just as far as a physical turkey, and with the Kaplan Foundation match, every dollar counts twice. You can also rally your workplace, church or neighborhood to collect turkeys ahead of the event and drop them at a participating location. Springer says there's a place for everyone. "There's a way for someone to help no matter what," he says. "Each one of those is equally important."
The drive itself is only half the story. On Saturday morning, Care and Share employees and volunteers gather at their distribution center in Colorado Springs. Every 10 minutes, another truck pulls up. Another pallet of turkeys goes out. Within four hours, partner agencies from across the region have come and gone, and semis are on the road bound for pantries as far as Alamosa and Baca counties.
"It's the only Saturday we require everyone to come in," Springer says. "Not a single person complains." The reason is simple. Each turkey will land on the table of a stranger. No fanfare. No thank you cards. Just a Thanksgiving table with a centerpiece.
"When you walk into King Soopers and buy a turkey and donate it, you have no idea whose table it's going to land on," Springer says. "But you know it's going to land on somebody's table. What a wonderful thing about generosity—people are helping others, really nameless, faceless people. They don't know who they're helping. They just know that they're helping."
Care and Share
719.528.1247
careandshare.org
By the Numbers
• 8,000-9,000 turkeys collected on a single Friday
• 11 King Soopers locations across Colorado Springs and Pueblo
• 305 partner agency nonprofits across the state
• 29 counties, 47,000 square miles served
• $20 buys one turkey
• Donations matched up to $50,000 by the Abram and Ray Kaplan Foundation
• Visit careandshare.org/turkey to donate or find your nearest location