LYNN — The Lynn Police Department donated more than $1,300 worth of turkeys to the Washington Street Baptist Church on Friday.
The 106 turkeys were purchased with money pooled together from officers for this yearly tradition. The birds will be dispersed during the church’s weekly food pantry.
This is Officer Taylor Cash’s first year being involved with the turkey drive, which she said is a great way to get closer to the community.
“To be able to give back and help others in need is a very rewarding feeling for all of us here at the department,” Cash said.
The department has an ongoing relationship with the Washington Street Baptist Church — which it recently furthered by partnering through the Faith and Blue initiative — and has been donating turkeys around Thanksgiving to the congregation for 10 years.
Kerwin Yuu, who runs the food pantry at the church, said this is a great way to help the food pantry and the community.
“The police really came through for this,” Yuu said.
With the pandemic, Yuu said the food pantry has been busier than ever.
“We usually serve about 200 families every month, so having all these turkeys is really helpful,” Yuu said. “It’s amazing.”
Due to the lack of turkeys available nationwide, the department had to purchase turkeys from outside of the city for the first time.
Usually coming from Market Basket and Stop & Shop in Lynn, this year’s turkey were purchased from Stop & Shop in Lynn and BJ’s in Danvers.
Stop & Shop Manager Kevin Waters said the store has been providing turkeys for this community event since the department started it.
“The city of Lynn has always been very good to us and Lynn Police is outstanding,” Waters said. “Helping them with this is a great way to give back to the community.”
The turkeys, along with other Thanksgiving fixings, will be distributed at the food pantry on Saturday at the church, located at 256 Washington St.
