LAKELAND, Florida – Polk Sheriff’s Charities will hold a free turkey giveaway Saturday, November 21, at three locations across Polk County. Organizers plan to hand out up to 1,800 frozen turkeys in Dundee, Eagle Lake and Lakeland.
Deputies will staff each site and give out the birds, which weigh 12 to 16 pounds. Families get one turkey per family and one per vehicle, first come, first served, while supplies last.
Recipients do not need identification or pre-qualification.
Locations and times
- East Polk, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.: Church on the Hill, 1111 Scenic Highway, Dundee
- Central Polk, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Lake Region High School campus, 1995 Thunder Road, Eagle Lake
- West Polk, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Victory Church, 1401 Griffin Road, Lakeland
Traffic directions
At Church on the Hill, deputies will direct cars to enter the parking lot south of the church from Old Scenic Highway. Cars will then go around the back of the church to the distribution point and exit north onto Old Scenic Highway toward Dundee.
At Lake Region High School, drivers should enter on Cameron Road from US 17. Cameron Road turns into Gilbert Street. Drivers then turn onto Thunder Road, go through the school parking lot to the distribution point and head back out onto Gilbert Street.
At Victory Church, cars will enter the parking lot from westbound Griffin Road and move through the church lot to the distribution point. They will exit onto Mall Hill Drive.
Ninth year for the giveaway
Polk Sheriff’s Charities, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Sheriff Grady Judd said donations to the charity throughout the year pay for the turkeys.
“For the 9th year in a row we are blessed to be able to provide turkeys to our citizens, thanks to the generous donations made year-round to Polk Sheriff’s Charities. We’re so grateful to the volunteers and donors who make this possible.”
Carrie Horstman, the Sheriff’s Office media relations administrator, is the media contact for the event.