AUSTIN, Texas — On Thursday, Operation Turkey will serve meals to more than 10,000 people in Austin and the surrounding areas for Thanksgiving. Serving that many people takes a lot of preparation, so on Wednesday, hundreds of volunteers will help start preparations at the Turkey Tailgate.
The tailgate is a daylong event at Third Base, involving seasoning and smoking 600 turkeys and sorting out donations before Thanksgiving.
"We have a bunch of people with barbecue pits from all the competitions that go on around town. They come out and smoke all the Turkeys for us," said Brian Tolbert, the executive director and a chairman of Operation Turkey.
Operation Turkey is a nonprofit that serves meals to thousands of people who are homeless or less fortunate. It started in Austin almost 20 years ago and has expanded to seven states and 29 cities.
The nonprofit's goal this year is to serve 75,000 meals, according to Tolbert.
About 300 volunteers are expected at Wednesday's event, but they said they can use all the volunteers and donations they can get.
Bake-a-Wish will also donate 1,000 pies to the event. However, the nonprofit asks that nobody donate food due to health code standards they follow.
On Thanksgiving, the meals are then prepared and passed out at four different Austin locations, as well as in Round Rock and Cedar Park.
"The impact is great. It reaches everyone, from the volunteers to everyone that receives the meals. The biggest impact I like is to the kids," Tolbert explained.
While Thanksgiving involves a lot of food, Tolbert said they are also accepting donations of toiletries and clothing for their care packages.
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This includes items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, deodorant, scarves, sweaters, gloves, jackets, etc.
There is no deadline to sign up to volunteer. However, Tolbert asked that interested parties sign up online before heading to the tailgate on Wednesday or to any of the locations for Operation Turkey on Thanksgiving.
The tailgate on Wednesday is located at 13301 US Highway 183.
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