Plainfield Turkey Drop: Help Feed Area Families This Thanksgiving

PLAINFIELD, IL — A Plainfield tradition to help those in need during the holidays is marking its 19th anniversary this year. Nearly two decades after Julie and Jerry Ford first hosted the Plainfield Turkey Drop out of their home, the effort to provide Thanksgiving meals for those in need returns to the Plainfield Moose Lodge, 16310 S. Lincoln Highway.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, stop by the lodge to drop off your frozen turkey. In exchange for the frozen bird, donors will get a free brunch, courtesy of the Moose lodge.

All donations will benefit the Plainfield Interfaith Food Pantry, Green Harvest Food Pantry in Plainfield and Plainfield School District 202 families through the Bags of Hope Thanksgiving basket distribution.

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Non-perishable items for Thanksgiving food baskets will also be accepted, along with monetary donations will also be accepted to help purchase additional Thanksgiving turkeys.

Checks can be made payable to the Plainfield Turkey Drop (not the Moose) and mailed to the Moose Lodge, 16310 S. Lincoln Highway, Plainfield IL 60586, with "turkey drop" noted on the envelope.

According to the Moose, the Ford family first began providing Thanksgiving turkeys in 1999, dropping them off at MorningStar Mission in Joliet. The following year, they hosted the first turkey drop out of their home, collecting 52 turkeys. The event became a tradition, held the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

The drive, which is now held at the Moose Lodge, has since grown by leaps and bounds. Last year, 865 turkeys were collected.

Find out more about the Plainfield Turkey Drop on its website.

Photo by Lorraine Swanson, Patch staff