A line of cars at least a mile long filled the streets around the Jackson County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, but not for a concert or a fall fair.
With Thanksgiving just days away and Christmas getting closer, the Jackson Police Department teamed up with the Battle Creek-based South Michigan Food Bank to give away 300 free turkeys and 600 free boxes of food during the annual Turkey Giveaway.
Malachi Avery and his brother, Steven Avery, rode their 10-speed bicycles to the fairground and each picked up a free turkey for two elderly friends in their late 70s and early 80s.
The two brothers were some of the first in line and each rode away with a free turkey.
“What I got taught is to help the elderly with whatever we can do for them because you never know when they’re not able to get food or anything,” said Malachi Avery said as a frozen turkey dangled from his bicycle. “With this colder weather coming up, the snow and all that, you just want to help the elderly out and help them get what you can get for them.”
Some 15 Jackson police officers distributed the turkeys while volunteers from Henry Ford Health, Aetna medicaid office, NAACP and other local business and organizations handed out the food boxes, which were filled with cereal, apples, milk, hamburger meat and cabbages.
The line of cars could be seen inside the fairgrounds while others waited for the gate to open on North Blackstone Street. The line, at least extended from Blackstone south to Ganson Street then east to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
All of the turkeys were gone in less than an hour. But the people still stayed in their cars for the food boxes.
“We’re not doing this for notoriety, we’re doing this out of necessity and the kindness of our hearts, and giving back to our community,” Jackson Police Chief Christopher Simpson said. “It’s the least that we can do as a police department."
“We strive to be excellent,” he added. “We want their support. We want them to know that we’re always there for them, not just in a time where we’re giving out turkeys, but on our daily endeavors of patrolling, investigating, so today is a good day where we can actually show them we’re giving back and, hopefully, expressing our generosity through the 300 turkeys that we’re providing.”
Michele Hightower, of Vandercook Lake, gleefully shouted that it felt like Christmas as volunteers filled her car with a turkey, cereal, milk and other food.
Hightower said the federal shutdown had affected her family, especially after she had to quit her job after a stroke in the family, leaving her and her husband with only one income.
“It’s been a struggle,” she said. “The prices are going up on everything, and we only have one income, so this is like a blessing to us, it really is.”
Anyone wishing to help families in need should visit smfoodbank.org to donate or volunteer, said Heather Pearce, community impact manager of the South Michigan Food Bank.
“It’s overwhelming” Pearce said of the turkey giveaway. “It’s gratifying to know that I’m a part of a whole bigger picture because there’s a ton of people out there that are struggling financially, they’re struggling with food insecurity, and it’s very heartwarming to know that we are able to help on such a small level.”