Media Advisory: Turkeypalooza: Thanksgiving meals for the hungry
Wake Forest University students, faculty and staff will prepare and deliver more than 400 Thanksgiving meals for food-insecure Triad-area residents during Turkeypalooza, an annual event hosted by The Campus Kitchen at Wake Forest.
Turkeypalooza, which coincides with National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (Nov. 15-20), has been hosted by Campus Kitchen for 10 years.
“Winston-Salem is one of the most food-insecure cities in the nation,” said senior Brooke Lucas, public relations coordinator for Campus Kitchen. “We at Wake Forest are part of this community and want to help address that.”
Prepared meals include a variety of Thanksgiving favorites, including pumpkin spice cookies and fresh cranberry sauce. Volunteers prepare meals during cooking shifts and then make deliveries to Triad-area organizations like Azalea Terrace, Holly Haven and El Buen Pastor Latino Community Services.
Nick Bennett (’15), volunteer coordinator at El Buen Pastor, says Turkeypalooza not only provides an opportunity for the community to fellowship with Wake Forest students, but a chance for organizations like El Buen Pastor to be more effective in their work.
“The aspect of fellowship is what Turkeypalooza is all about for organizations like ours,” Bennett said. “The food brought in by organizations like Campus Kitchen can take a burden off our shoulders and allow us to do our job better.”
The group has also launched an online donation site for those who would like to help but cannot attend the event.
“Thanksgiving is a holiday for everyone to share, not just those who can afford it,” Lucas said. “All of us, faculty, students, staff, we’re all trying to meet the same goal: sharing Thanksgiving with the Winston-Salem community.”
See photos from last year’s event here.
About Wake Forest University : Wake Forest University combines the best traditions of a small liberal arts college with the resources of a large research university. Founded in 1834, the school is located in Winston-Salem, N.C. The University’s graduate school of arts and sciences, divinity school, and nationally ranked schools of law, medicine and business enrich our intellectual environment. Learn more about Wake Forest University at www.wfu.edu.
