Organizations come together for turkey giveaway across 9 locations in Chicago

CHICAGO — With less than a week before Thanksgiving, one of the largest turkey giveaways in Chicago arrived Sunday across nine different locations, giving back to the community.

Bill Crane was among many at the Vault Gallerie location in Pilsen, with several other organizations helping put together the efforts.

What started as a small turkey giveaway the Sunday before Thanksgiving at West 87^th Street and South Vincennes Avenue back in 2013 has grown exponentially, but so has the need.

Bill Crane, from Crane’s World TV, said the rise of inflation has also affected the cost of buying a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. According to Crane, the price of the birds was around $7 when they started the event. Since then, they have spiked up to $30 per turkey.

“Times are tough. [It’s] a cold day out here and there are over 1000 families getting blessed,” Crane said.

Volunteers not only gave their time and turkeys in the cold, but fresh produce as well.

“You’ll see people hug, cry, I mean the emotion and elation that they’ll have food on their table for the holidays so they can sit around the table and tell some tale with their family with warm food in their belly it’s just a beautiful thing,” Crane said.