Become a Volunteer | Operation Turkey

Want to help out?

We Have Many Ways to Volunteer

Operation Turkey is back to normal operations in 2024 and looking to feed more homeless and less fortunate.

Our volunteers work throughout the year to ensure everything is in place to prepare, package, and deliver warm meals, care packages, and clothing donations to those in need from 8am – 12pm Thanksgiving Day.

How It Works

Join our volunteer network as easy as 1-2-3

Step 1

First, you will need to fill out our volunteer intake form and give us some details including your preferred location and station (what you’d like to do for us). We have a database of over 50k volunteers!

Join Our Volunteer Network

Operation Turkey will never share your information. If you are under 16 years of age and would like to volunteer, please email us at volunteers@operationturkey.com.

Step 2

Check your email!

Once you are in our volunteer database, you will receive a small number of emails throughout the year notifying you of upcoming Operation Turkey events. The number of emails you receive will increase in October and November, leading up to Thanksgiving Day.

To ensure you are receiving important volunteer information:

Add volunteers@operationturkey.com to your contacts
Check your spam folder

Step 3

Show up!

Once you have registered as a volunteer, all you have to do is show up!

You will receive information in emails leading up to volunteer day, but here are some general tips for Thanksgiving Day volunteers:

Please plan to show up at 8:00 a.m. wearing comfortable clothing and closed-toed shoes for walking safety.
You are always able to select what you would like to do. Cooking, cleaning, plating, packaging, or delivering; there is always a job to be done. Any time and help you can offer Operation Turkey is greatly appreciated.
Kids are welcome and encouraged to come out with parents or guardians. We also have special programs that enlist the help of the younger members of your family. They will get to share the great Operation Turkey experience with you, and it will help open their young eyes to the importance of giving back to their communities.

Read our FAQs for more information.

Volunteer Your Way

Our Volunteer Positions

There are many ways you can volunteer for Operation Turkey, whether it’s on Thanksgiving Day, the day before at the Turkey Tailgate, in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving Day, or all year round!

Thanksgiving Day

On Thanksgiving Day, each location may run a little differently, but we all have one purpose – cook, prepare, and deliver meals to those who are less fortunate. Here are some of the volunteer opportunities at the big event:

Setup – Moving tables around, getting ready for a big crowd and assembly line, etc.
Cooking – Kitchen work involves the cooking and prep for each food item; deboning turkeys, prepping vegetables, opening canned items, making mashed potatoes, staging pies, and more.
Decoration – Children’s tables will be set up with drawing material to decorate the meal packaging before it is filled with food.
Plating – Each type of food will need to be added to the plate as the assembly line comes by each food station.
Packaging – Plates will be carried down the assembly line of food stations to be filled with a portion of each type of food. Completed plates are then carried out to the delivery drivers.
Delivery Drivers – Delivering meals & toiletries involves loading the cars with the correct number of meals and supplies, driving to the delivery location, and handing the meals to those in need.
Cleaning – After a successful Thanksgiving Day, when all food has been packaged and sent out to deliver, there is some cleanup to get the venue back to its previous condition.

Turkey Tailgate

The Turkey Tailgate is where we smoke all the turkeys that will be needed for Thanksgiving Day.

Setup – Getting smokers into the parking lot and getting them all ready to go
Cooking – Pitmasters to smoke the turkeys
Packaging – Getting the cooked turkeys ready for the next day
Cleaning – Picking up after getting the turkeys ready
Refrigeration – Keeping the turkeys at a safe temperature until the next morning

Leading up to Thanksgiving

There is prep work involved in having everything ready to go for the Turkey Tailgate and Thanksgiving Day, including sorting toiletries and clothing, picking up and delivering food items and supplies, hosting small fundraisers, and more.

All Year Round

We have volunteers who support us in other ways throughout the year – including marketing, admin responsibilities, and using their talents to help us out.

If you would like to volunteer your services or take on a larger role with Operation Turkey, please send an email to volunteer@operationturkey.com.