Turkeypalooza 2019 to feed about 350

Beginning Nov. 17, Wake Forest volunteers will prepare about 350 traditional Thanksgiving meals in Campus Kitchen and deliver them to food-insecure Winston-Salem residents during Turkeypalooza.

Dinners of turkey, green beans, vegetable stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce and pumpkin cookies will be delivered Nov. 19-25. The bulk of the green beans and sweet potatoes being used are from the Wake Forest Campus Garden. The turkeys were purchased at a local farm outside of Winston-Salem.

Turkeypalooza is an annual event sponsored by Campus Kitchen that began in 2006.

“Because we’re preparing scratch-made meals and not relying on donated goods, we fundraise from the campus community to be able to purchase the food,” said Brad Shugoll, associate director of service and leadership for the Office of Civic and Community Engagement. “We’re trying to raise $3,000, and any money that we raise above that is used for our holiday bags…”

Turkeypalooza 2019 meals will be prepared on campus and then delivered to Triad-area organizations including City with Dwellings, FaithHealth NC, Latino Community Services, Habitat for Humanity Forsyth County, Samaritan Ministries, The Parenting Path, The Potter’s House, The Shalom Project, Veterans Helping Veterans Heal and individuals in the Asterpark and Azalea Terrace communities.

“Turkeypalooza creates a space where we can share in a fall meal while allowing students, faculty and staff to think beyond the Wake Forest community and to work in partnership with our community organizations,” said Shugoll.

This year, officials with Harvest Table Culinary Group, the University’s on-campus food service provider, will prepare an additional 200 meals for members of the local community. Campus Kitchen volunteers will help with the delivery of these meals.

Turkeypalooza is partner-specific, which means Wake Forest University works directly with its partners and does not schedule or deliver meals to individuals, Shugoll said. Wake Forest’s Campus Kitchen is one of the University’s premier sustainability initiatives; rescuing food that would otherwise be wasted and using it to fight hunger and poverty in the greater Winston-Salem area. Currently, there are more than 60 Campus Kitchens in operation across the country.

Brad Shugoll and student leaders are available for interviews. Cooking shifts are from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17; and from 5-9 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 18, Tuesday, Nov. 19, Wednesday, Nov. 20, and Thursday, Nov. 21. Deliveries are made daily. Tuesday and Thursday deliveries coincide with the start of cooking shifts, offering good photo opportunities.