MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich — Nearly 250 people volunteered their time Thanksgiving morning to take part in the annual Turkey Run event in Muskegon County.
The event, which has been going on for at least the last 20 years, helps put together more than 2,000 Thanksgiving meals for people in the community.
"They'll be receiving a full Thanksgiving dinner in a clamshell, ready to to stick in the microwave and warm it up and serve it to their families," said Major Lynnetta Poff with the Muskegon Salvation Army.
The Turkey Run event started at 7 a.m. Thanksgiving Day at Reeths-Puffer High School where volunteers showed up and began packing meals. This is the result of a partnership between the Salvation Army and the Reeths-Puffer school district.
Grade school-aged children decorate the bags and the high school students help with the meal packing and distribution.
Poff says this is a great learning experience for the students to understand that some families are not as fortunate as your family.
"It's a way for the little ones to start to volunteer and give back to their community," she said.
The first round of meals were distributed at the Senior Towers followed by family meals. About 150 volunteers helped deliver the meals.
Poff tells 13 ON YOUR SIDE the meals are usually delivered to all 2,000 people by noon so that the volunteers can then go home and enjoy Thanksgiving with their families.
"[In my] 30 years of being a Salvation Army officer, I've never done something this big on Thanksgiving day before," Poff said.
Luke Callender is a senior at Reeths-Puffer and a student leader who helped plan this event.
"It might seem [like] something little, but it might make some person's day, like someone you know who can't get out and get food and us being able to provide that for them, you know, just makes you feel a little bit better, be a part of something bigger than yourself," Callender said.
Jackie Griffin is the Senior Food Service Director for Southeast Food Service Excellence at Reeths-Puffer School District.
For the last five years, the food service company has helped the Salvation Army with this project.
This year they cooked more than 600 pounds of turkey and green beans, 132 pounds of stuffing and more than 65 pounds of cranberry sauce.
"Everything is from scratch and that's the same way that we provide our meals for our kids here at Reeths-Puffer as well," Griffin said.
"What it means to me is just giving back, I mean, today's Thanksgiving, and what better way, you know, my heart is full, we are extremely grateful," she said.
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