turkey tuesday

Join 12 News, Bashas', Food City, and AJ's Fine Foods in support Turkey Tuesday the largest one-day turkey drive in the country!

For over 30 years, 12 News, Bashas’, Food City, and AJ's Fine Foods have partnered with St. Vincent de Paul for Turkey Tuesday the largest one-day turkey drive in the U.S. This month-long drive collects frozen turkeys and monetary donations to provide Thanksgiving meals for families in need across Arizona. Donations start early in November, with the main event happening the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, when people can drop off turkeys at participating stores. Each turkey helps bring the joy of a holiday meal to local families struggling with food insecurity. 

Impact of Turkey Tuesday in Arizona
$650,000
raised to support families in need in 2023
$50
buys a holiday food box for a family with a turkey and all the sides and fixings
30+
years of Turkey Tuesday support in Arizona

Volunteer

Volunteers are vital to our daily work to feed, clothe, house and heal people in need, and during the holiday season we need volunteers more than ever.

Whether you're serving meals in one of our Valley dining rooms, helping to prepare and plate up holiday meals, or sorting donations in our food reclamation center to be distributed in food boxes around Arizona, you can make a difference this holiday season.
 

Find a volunteer opportunity
 

Donate to Turkey Tuesday

Just $20 helps SVdP put turkey on the table for an Arizonan in need!

Choose an amount:
Man holding up frozen turkey

The funds and turkeys received on Turkey Tuesday support various programs at St. Vincent de Paul such as our food reclamation center, central kitchen, and community food pantries. Explore the various ways that your donation will support families in need this holiday season.

Food Reclamation Center 

This center is the hub for all the donations that come in through more than 500 community drives we host annually. In total, we process millions of pounds of food each year.  

 After sorting and running quality control, we distribute the goods across SVdP’s mission, including to our 80 conference community food pantries, which receive about 130,000 pounds of food each month. The food, hygiene items, and other goods are then delivered to families in need during home visits.  

Learn more

Kitchen

As one of the largest commercial kitchens in the Southwest, where we prepare 7,000 nutritious meals every day! This central location provides meals to all four St. Vincent de Paul Dining Rooms and over 30 partner social service agencies. We feed families and individuals in need every single day of the year.  

Every morning at 3 a.m., one of the most impressive operations at SVdP Phoenix comes alive. While much of the city sleeps, our central kitchen starts chopping, stirring, and cooking up the day’s meals in industrial-sized vats and massive frying pans and ovens. 

Learn more

Community Food Pantries and Vincentians

The SVdP volunteers from the parish, referred to as Vincentians, focus on offering direct, personal support to those in need by making home visits and delivering food boxes to families facing hardship. These compassionate visits allow them to assess needs firsthand and provide essential items, such as groceries, while offering emotional support and guidance. Their goal is to bring hope and assistance directly to people's homes, ensuring they feel cared for and connected to their community. 

More than 168,000 food boxes are delivered yearly to families experiencing food insecurity in Central and Northern Arizona. 

Learn more

30 Years of Turkey Tuesday in the Valley

In 1992, 12 News and the Bashas' Family of Stores partnered with St. Vincent de Paul to host the very first Turkey Tuesday drive. Since then, it has grown into the largest one-day turkey drive in the country providing thousands of turkeys and holiday meals to families in need around Arizona each year.

This year, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, you can join in the Turkey Tuesday tradition and help make the holidays special for those in need.

group of men smiling at the camera
Two men with a cart of turkeys on the back of a truck
Bruce Cooper interviewing donors on Turkey Tuesday
Vincentians posing with a cart full of turkeys
Two women holding a cooked turkey with an SVdP hat
Donors posing with a turkey at the cash register of a Bashas'
Young boy scout holding a turkey
Group of people standing in front of pumpkin pies
Bruce Cooper and Tram Mai doing a TV interview
Steve Zabilski posing with a young boy holding a turkey