‘So much happiness’: Feeding 8,500 families, Tom’s Turkey Drive still at it 26 years later

Directing cars to their Thanksgiving dinner pickup, Tom’s Turkey Drive volunteer Trevor Holcomb was cold but very happy.

“Just seeing the people wave at me is really great. I mean, it just feels good to see so much happiness,” he said.

It was Halcolmb’s first time volunteering for the annual giveaway. He grew up in Spokane and had always heard about it.

“I always knew this was a great thing, but you don’t really know until you get out here,” he said. “I know the impact it has on the community. I grew up in Spokane, so I’m very familiar with Tom’s Turkey Trot and turkey drive. I just wanted to be part of it this year.”

The drive even attracted 14-year-old volunteer Ivy Prigan, who promised her parents did not make her volunteer.

“I thought it would be nice to help people in the community. And it has made me feel good to just see how thankful the families are,” Ivy said.

Named for retired KREM 2 News chief meteorologist Tom Sherry, the annual food drive started with 300 turkeys being given out. It has since grown to thousands of nearly 40-pound Thanksgiving meal kits that include a frozen turkey, stuffing, rolls, cranberry sauce and other food items for a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Entering its 26th year, the turkey drive has served about 8,500 families this year through the help of roughly 9,000 volunteers throughout 2025.

“I would say the need is certainly as high, and the chaos has been higher this year,” said Second Harvest Community Partnerships Director Eric Williams.

All recipients were asked to sign up ahead of time, a change made a few a years ago to make the campaign more efficient, Williams said.

The new model distributing meals through a network of more than 20 community food banks and resource centers also makes it easier on the recipients by bringing the assistance to them, he said.

“The worst thing is for somebody who’s trying to decide, can they pay for rent or gas or food to come, come to one of our mobile events and not get anything,” Williams said.

It’s been a tumultuous year for many, and economic anxieties tend to heighten around the holidays. Williams said the turkey drive provides crucial relief to struggling residents, and wouldn’t be possible without the generous donors, volunteers and community partners at the heart of it.

Williams encouraged residents to keep that giving spirit going well beyond the holiday season.

“I’m often asked, “Hey, is the need higher during the holidays,’ and actually it’s relatively the same,” Williams said. “I mean, come January, there’s still going to be need. February, there’s need and less attention on it.”

While waiting in line to pick up her turkey dinner, Christina Loehding said the drive shows Spokane “is a great community.”

Asked what Tom’s Turkey Drive means to her, Leohding said it “hopefully means turkey dinner” this year.

Reporter Nick Gibson contributed to this article.