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For each of the past 20 years, the TurkeyPalooza planning team at Wake Forest University has felt the pressure: The holidays always bring an increased demand for meals among Forsyth County neighbors and with food prices on the rise, this year is no different.

Community partners have requested extra, scratch-made Thanksgiving meals through TurkeyPalooza.

That’s because there’s nothing like a homemade meal for a holiday celebration, said Anna Donze, assistant director of community engagement in Wake Forest’s Office of Civic and Community Engagement and staff advisor to Campus Kitchen.

“We deliver meals year-round, but there’s a difference in the feeling of getting something that was prepared from scratch for you,” she said. “It helps us spread that holiday spirit around.”

After student volunteers prep the recipes—many of which will include minced garlic grown in the Campus Garden especially for TurkeyPalooza—additional volunteer teams deliver the prepared meals to campus partners across the region. Residents of Assembly Terrace assisted-living facility will receive TurkeyPalooza meals for the first time this year. Assembly Terrace joins long-term partners like the Shalom Project, NC FaithHealth and Samaritan Ministries.

“I absolutely love the planning and operations that go into making an event like this happen,” said student volunteer Teresa Tuong, a senior from Florida. “There’s something really rewarding about orchestrating something that isn’t about you. It’s about bringing people together around good food and creating an opportunity to share that with others.”

Made from scratch by student hands

Every week, Campus Kitchen receives donations of prepared food that was never served. Volunteers turn those donations into nutritious meals and deliver them to more than 100 Forsyth County residents.

But because TurkeyPalooza meals are planned in advance and made from scratch—including everything from roast turkey to mashed potatoes and pumpkin cookies—students have to raise money to cover the cost of ingredients.

TurkeyPalooza’s student organizers aim to raise at least $6,000 this year. It will help cover the cost of supplies not only for the Thanksgiving feast but also for meals delivered year-round by Campus Kitchen. Gifts can be made via an online campaign.

This year’s fundraising comes with a twist: Wake Forest students are competing with those at other Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schools to raise the most in the 2026 ACC Pantry Challenge. The fundraising drive runs through Nov. 14.

TurkeyPalooza also coincides with the national Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week, Nov. 15-21. Turkeypalooza is Campus Kitchen’s effort to alleviate food insecurity in the region.