Tom's Turkey Drive connects partners

 

Eric Williams, community partnerships director at Second Harvest, describes Tom's Turkey Drive as "a huge team sport," relying on many partners, each doing their part.

For most of Tom's Turkey Drive's 25 years, Laura Papetti has worked at KREM-TV with Tom Sherry, partnering with Second Harvest of the Inland Northwest, Rosauers, Franz Bread, Numerica, Itron, Starbucks, Washington Dairy Farmers and now many community food pantries that are doing the distribution.

For the first few years, Laura's role was primarily as a reporter.

"Then I helped run the drive through KREM, as the community marketing arm, while Second Harvest focused on the logistics," she said.

Eric praised her dedication, saying she takes 10 days off after one Tom's Turkey Drive and then returns to work on the next one.

Tom, whose name is on the drive, continues to return to Spokane from his retirement in Arizona to help with organizing and promotion.

"We want the turkey drive to be a low-barrier, non-judgmental way to get a meal," he said.

Tom is in town in November, even helping volunteers sort and bag potatoes and apples. Potato farmers donate 40,000 potatoes to Second Harvest for the drive.

Eric said that when Tom comes for a meeting, "he lights up the room and inspires us. He's not just a showman who is the voice and personality behind the drive. He's dedicated to it."

"We started weekly meetings this year in January," he said. "Tom's Turkey Drive is actually a year-round event because we have to order turkeys in advance—usually in February.

Advance orders and requests are needed for Rosauers to order 8,500 turkeys and Thanksgiving canned goods, for Franz to order 100,000 rolls and stuffing for 8,500 meal boxes, for Washington Dairy Farmers to supply milk and for Partners Inland Northwest in Spokane Valley to recruit volunteers for the drive, including for sign-up beginning Nov. 1 and for distribution on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

By ordering early, Rosauers can get bulk discounts on the turkeys and canned food.

Laura said KREM begins shooting videos for promotions in May and June. It launched a new logo this summer.

Starbucks, gives Tom's Turkey drive profits from two hours of sales on Nov. 15, raising thousands of dollars—$30,000 in 2023—and spreading awareness about the drive at all of its outlets. Laura said one task is printing buttons to give to all who buy at Starbucks that day.

"Numerica helps us print T-shirts for Rosauers employees to wear," she said. "Rosauers customers donate $25 to pay for one Tom's Turkey Drive bag."

There is also a kids art contest.

"It's one massive project," Laura described. "Our goal is to include the community in the campaign to fight against hunger, which is Second Harvest's task every day."

Eric had a challenge two years ago when Second Harvest couldn't find enough canned yams—a supply issue—so some families received canned olives.

"COVID created a shortage in some traditional Thanksgiving foods," said Laura. "Our goal is to provide thousands of boxes containing a robust, healthy meal for Thanksgiving."

Last year they supplied 6,000 turkeys and meal boxes. This year they will provide 8,500. The numbers went down last year from 11,000 a few years ago, as partners decided to distribute at the neighborhood level so people can connect with nearby resources.

In early years, Tom's Turkey Drive distributed about 2,000 turkeys and meal boxes at The Salvation Army. Then it moved to the Spokane Arena to serve more people. With COVID, it shifted to be a drive-through pickup at the Spokane County Fairgrounds, but some were in line from 8:30 until 10 or 11 a.m.

"That was efficient in one sense but was large and impersonal. We felt it lost the person-to-person connections that make it more effective," Laura said.

Now Tom's Turkey Drive distributes through 20 food pantries, mobile markets, nonprofits, outreach programs and community centers. Some hand out 50 boxes and some more than 200 boxes.

"We meet people near to where they are," she said. "In the neighborhood settings, we have regained human connections in which volunteers can strike up a conversation with people to ask about what other help they may need," Laura explained.

Neighborhood centers offer multiple services. People coming for a turkey and box can discover the variety of other resources.

"KREM offers expertise in digital and TV media but could not feed people without partnering with Second Harvest," Laura pointed out, noting that over 25 years, Tom's Turkey Drive has served 800,000 meals. "That would not happen if just TV people were involved.

"We can tell the story of hunger, and it's important to do that, but we could not do it without our partners," she said.

Laura, who grew up in Alaska, earned a degree in political science and journalism at the University of Northern Colorado in 1992, and did postgraduate studies and worked in Montana and Alaska before coming to Spokane. At KREM, she has been a reporter, anchor and community marketing director, coordinating the station's community outreach, particularly Tom's Turkey Drive.

For Second Harvest, Tom's Turkey Drive is an amplified version of what they do 365 days, working with partners like grocers, farmers and food processing/packaging companies.

"Long-time partners provide the food donations through Second Harvest," said Eric, noting that volunteers are at the heart of Tom's Turkey Drive.

"We give out food boxes until we run out," said Laura.

On the status of hunger and food donations in the region, Eric reported: "As food costs are slowing their rise, many partners are seeing more working families, people with jobs, accessing food pantries."

Inflation, which he said has been a factor for 30 years, affects costs for Second Harvest in buying food, fuel and equipment.

"We are blessed to be in an area with so many farmers who donate part of their crops. Ninety percent of the food we offer is donated by farmers, grocers and food processors," he said.

Second Harvest has served 5,500 people per week each of the last three years, distributing 35 million pounds of food a year—17 semi-truck loads a week—in five North Idaho counties and 21 Central and Eastern Washington counties—an area of 52,000 square miles.

For information, call Eric at 252-6264 or email Laura at lpapetti@krem.com.