Full Notification

  The Berkeley Police Department, in partnership with the Berkeley Police Association (BPA), will be providing Turkey Baskets to those community members most in need for Thanksgiving.  This year marks the department’s 32^nd year of giving.    

BPA Board Director Scott Castle, a sergeant at the department and the organizer of this year’s program said, “We are working hard to make this year better than the last.  The goal for our 200 baskets is that they will contain a turkey, all the fixings, desert, and only use fresh produce.  We are well on our way to achieving our goal.”   

“One of the most rewarding ways we serve our community is to give support to families in need over the Thanksgiving holiday. This is a decades-long tradition at BPD and partnership with the Association, and we look forward to bringing fresh, healthy Turkey dinners to scores of households on November 22,” said Chief Andrew Greenwood.

The Turkey Basket Program’s origin dates back to 1983 when three BPD officers rode their bicycles from Berkeley to South Lake Tahoe.  During their trip, they talked about developing a community service related project that could involve their fellow officers. Ultimately they decided that they would raise money to buy food and give it to Berkeley families in need during the November and December holiday seasons.

In 1985, the inaugural Turkey Ride took place with seven officers riding the 216 miles from the Hall of Justice – the old Berkeley Police Station (then located at 2171 McKinley Ave) to Lake Tahoe in two and half days.  The group raised enough money to buy 250 turkeys and other food items to give away to community members. Since then, support for the program has expanded and contracted. 
This event is only made possible through the charitable donations from others. 

This event has only remained viable through the charitable contributions of our strong community partnerships.  We would like to extend a special thanks to one such partnership.  DeYoe Wealth Management has very generously pledged to support our cause for the next five years.  We would also like to thank the Oakland Grocery Outlet, Berkeley Bowl, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, the Berkeley 4^th Street Business District for their support and Berkeley Youth Alternatives whose facility will be used as our base of operations for assembly and delivery. 

Despite contributions from community benefactors we are always hoping to stretch 200 Turkey Baskets into another 50-100 baskets.  With this increase in mind, the Berkeley Police Association set up a GoFundMe page has been established for anyone who might want to contribute to our efforts.  It can be accessed here: www.gofundme.com/berkeley-turkey-baskets 

Members of the community who might want to help build the baskets or make deliveries on November 22^nd (delivery day) are encouraged to contact Sergeant Scott Castle at [email protected]  With your continued assistance we hope to brighten the holidays for a larger number of our community who might need a litle assistance.