In preparation for next week’s free Thanksgiving meals for Colorado Springs residents in need, turkey talk is happening this week.

Philanthropic drives are underway, encouraging community support to help feed the masses to celebrate the American holiday of giving thanks.

Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado, the region’s primary supplier of emergency food distributed at 289 area pantries, soup kitchens and other charitable centers, is holding its annual “Take a Turkey to Work Day” on Friday, Nov. 22.

From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., staff and volunteers from the organization will collect donations of frozen turkeys at participating King Soopers locations in Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Alamosa.

The drop-off King Soopers stores in Colorado Springs are: 9225 N. Union Blvd., 6030 Stetson Hills Blvd., 815 Cheyenne Meadows Road, 7915 Constitution Ave., and 3250 Centennial Blvd.

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Care and Share’s headquarters at 2605 Preamble Point in Colorado Springs is also accepting contributions of turkeys on Friday. Monetary donations can be made at careandshare.org.

“We believe food is the foundation for creating memories around the table with loved ones, experiencing joy and building hope, and the holiday season is a time to bring people together,” President and CEO Nathan “Nate” Springer said in a statement.

The organization received about 3,500 turkeys during last year’s promotion and is hoping for at least that many this year, according to spokesman Adam Uhernik.

The Salvation Army is preparing to serve 2,500 Thanksgiving Day Community Meals on Thursday, Nov. 28, by issuing a call for donations.

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The El Paso County corps of the Christian organization plans to prepare 300 turkeys for its lunchtime feasts, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., which will be open to the public at several locations across the Pikes Peak region.

Those include the headquarters at 908 Yuma St.; Manitou Springs City Hall, 606 Manitou Ave., in Manitou Springs; Fountain Valley Senior Center, 5745 Southmoor Drive in Fountain; and Woodland Park Nazarene Church, 900 Evergreen Heights Drive in Woodland Park. Clients of the Family Hope Center homeless shelter for families and veterans at 709 S. Sierra Madre St. will also receive complimentary holiday meals. 

Non-ambulatory residents can call the organization to arrange delivery in advance at (719) 884-1052. 

Monetary donations are accepted at coloradosprings.salvationarmy.org. 

Springs Rescue Mission, Colorado Springs’ largest homeless shelter for single men and women, will hold its yearly Thanksgiving Banquet at its campus, 5 W. Las Vegas St., from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 27, featuring a traditional holiday meal. It is open to the public.

A hot cocoa bar will be available as diners wait for seating, which will be done in stages. A pop-up winter-wear shop will also be on-site with giveaways of coats, hats, gloves and socks.

Anyone who would like to donate money to provide meals and shelter can go to springsrescuemission.org.

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The Marian House, which includes a soup kitchen and employment center, will receive a $10,000 Hunger Grant check from the Safeway Foundation and vendor Mondelez International, the maker of brands including Oreo, Triscuit, Ritz, Clif Bar and Tate’s Bake Shop, to support its kitchen and marketplace food pantry.

Clients of the Marian House Marketplace pantry are receiving $50 gift cards for holiday food shopping at Safeway grocery stores. When rounding up purchases at cash registers, Safeway customers make contributions to the company’s gift card food initiative called “Nourishing Neighbors.”

The Marian House, 14 W. Bijou St., a program of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, will also serve a traditional holiday meal for the public on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, during its usual daily lunch mealtime, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Financial contributions are accepted at www.ccharitiescc.org. Food donations also are needed.