Minnesota Wild, Jennie-O give out thousands of free turkeys for Thanksgiving dinner
MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — Thousands of Minnesota families are ending the week feeling extra thankful, after the Minnesota Wild and Jennie-O worked to take the burden off the cost of Thanksgiving dinner.
Outside Maplewood's Aldrich Arena Friday, cars lined up for the chance at a free frozen bird.
"It's a pretty good deal – I mean, it helps out. When you're in need, it really helps," said Dale Francisco of Minneapolis. "That's a big cost off the meal right there, so you can get something else."
For the first time in several years, the cost of Thanksgiving turkey is expected to dip slightly – with the cost of a frozen bird down roughly 4%.
But as the cost of other groceries increases, the cost of a "name brand" Thanksgiving is up once more – averaging $90 for a ten-person meal.
"You see turkeys are almost 20, 30 dollars," said Serena Taylor of New Brighton, who was first in line for the giveaway. "A lot of people, once they spend their monthly food stamps, or whatever they have, they don't have it to spend. They're spending it on everyday type of things. This is very important to them."
The Wild also partnered with community food shelves to give out Turkeys this holiday season.
"It's awesome. You get smiles, you get tears of joy," said Community Relations Manager Bella Iversen. "They're just so grateful to come and just get a turkey. That might be something that's overlooked when shopping for Thanksgiving, but for some of these folks, it's a huge need."
