Turkeys for Troops

USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore established Turkeys for Troops in 2008 to assist lower enlisted military families (E1 - E6) due to an increase in emergency food requests during the holiday season. Turkeys for Troops is a program that provides military families with traditional ingredients needed to prepare a Thanksgiving meal for a family of 4-6, including a gift card to purchase a fresh turkey from a local food store. (Note: Due to food safety handling regulations, the holiday meal baskets DO NOT include a turkey. A gift card to a local food store is given to purchase a fresh turkey instead.)

Since its start in 2008 the program has expanded from serving 500 families in 2008 to more than 1200 military families in 2013-2014. This program is made possible through generous donations from our corporate partners and funds raised during an annual telethon held on Veteran’s Day. This year a minimum of 1200 families will be served.

This year we will be bringing Turkeys for Troops to service members in a new way. We will be distributing meal boxes at two locations in a fun, festival environment filled with booths, games, refreshments, activities and prizes! In order to receive your meal box registered participants must be present at the event.

How to Register and important information:

Turkeys for Troops is open to all active duty service members, E1 - E6. Registration opens on October 10, 2016 at noon and will close October 17 or when maximum capacity is reached.

Key things to remember when you register:

• Program is open to active duty E1-E6; there are no exceptions. You will be required to show military ID when you pick up your items.
• Registration should be completed using the service member’s first and last name. You are required to enter two email addresses for registration:
• 1) A preferred personal email address;
• 2) The active duty service member’s current and valid MILITARY email address. Please carefully enter BOTH email addresses because this is the primary way USO-Metro communicates with registrants. A military email address is required (and approved) by our Senior Enlisted Advisory Council. If either of these email address sections are left blank, your registration will be cancelled.
• You will need to provide this Senior Enlisted’s contact information. The name, rank, email and phone number of your Senior Enlisted Advisor are required sections. The Service Member should know who this is in his/her chain of command. If any of these sections are left blank, your application will be cancelled.
• The name, rank, email and phone number of the service member’s Senior Enlisted Advisor are required sections. The Service Member should know who this is in his/her chain of command. We are letting you know now so you can plan accordingly. If any of these sections are left blank, your registration will be cancelled. You must provide accurate information for the Senior Enlisted Service Member (E7 or above). You must have your senior enlisted leader’s rank, first and last name (Ex. MSgt Kirs Kringle), phone number and correct military email address. If registrations list N/A, Civilian information or just the senior enlisted leader’s name to answer the question the registration will be removed and the service member will be asked via email to re-register should space still be available.
• Occasionally service members have missed receiving messages because an email from USO-Metro will go to a spam folder. Please be sure to save HolidayPrograms@usometro.org as a safe contact so you can receive up to date information!Once you submit your registration, the location you selected for pick-up cannot be changed.
• USO-Metro is unable to hold holiday food baskets past the distribution date. Unclaimed holiday food baskets will be distributed to our wait list.
• If an emergency situation arises and you can no longer attend the event, you must EMAIL a minimum of 2 hours before the event start time. ALL CANCELLATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY EMAIL TO HolidayPrograms@usometro.org. Email MUST include your first and last name, phone number, service branch, event location, and reason you are no longer able to attend. All other forms of cancellation will NOT be accepted. I.E. Phone call or voicemail, hand-written note, verbal communication with staff or volunteers, etc.
• If you do not EMAIL HolidayPrograms@usometro.org prior to the event start, you will be listed as a “No Show”. We will not be able to hold items due to lack of storage space.

Thank you to our Turkeys for Troops sponsors Booz Allen Hamilton, Citrix, EY, Leidos, and the Tegna Foudnation & WUSA9