At the time of writing this, it's hard to believe Thanksgiving is only 6 days away. How has November gone by this quickly? With 6 days until turkey day, there is a group in Iowa called the Iowa Giving Crew, and they have been preparing to hand out over one thousand Thanksgiving meals through their "Give the Birds" program.

You're going to hear this a lot over the next month and a half but it is important to remember that this is the most important time of the year to be thankful for what you have and to remember not everyone is as fortunate as you might be. The Iowa Giving Crew is doing its part in helping as many people as they can have a Thanksgiving meal. The Iowa Giving Crew will be collecting meals to help 1,200 families.

Collecting and distributing that many meals is no easy task. According to KCRG, "it takes months of planning, fundraising, collecting, and assembling." The team behind this hard work are volunteers at the Cedar Rapids-based Van Meter Inc., which is a company mostly known for distributing electrical parts.

Jeff Miller is the Van Meter Inc. Chief Information Technology and Distribution officer and he told KCRG that being able to use their own equipment helps make things easier during this process. He said,

We use our Van Meter conveyors and our gravity machines and things to help make things lighter and to help make it easier for everybody.

While having machinery the Van Meter employees are familiar with does help things run smoothly, it should be noted that manpower is what makes this operation go. KCRG reports there will be at least 80 volunteers to help pack and send out meals.

If you're in need of a thanksgiving meal, you can count on each carton having all of the essentials you would associate with Thanksgiving dinner. Danielle Monthei is the Iowa Giving Crew Fundraising Director and she told KCRG, each carton is full of the good stuff.

We make sure every carton has a turkey in it, has potatoes and green beans, and bread and stuffing.

What more could you ask for? According to the Iowa Giving Crew website, each of these meals feeds about 4 people, and if you are in need of a meal, they ask for you to keep an eye out on their Facebook page. They are still taking donations and want to thank everyone who donated to help make this possible

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