Sandia employees help make the holidays more bountiful for local families

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Employees of Sandia National Laboratories will once again come together to help local families in need over the Thanksgiving holiday with the annual “Take a Turkey to Work Day.”

As part of the event on Nov. 14, employees are encouraged to bring a frozen turkey to drop off at various sites around Sandia. The public is also invited to take part by bringing frozen turkeys to Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union locations in Albuquerque, Edgewood, Los Lunas and Rio Rancho from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The annual event gathers hundreds of turkeys and thousands of dollars to be donated to local food banks. This year the donations will be distributed to Roadrunner Food Bank, the Rio Grande Food Project and the East Mountain and St. Felix pantries.

The latest Feeding America Map the Meal study shows New Mexico’s hunger rate at 13.5 percent, compared to a national average of 10.4 percent. Child hunger in New Mexico is even higher at 19.2 percent compared to 12.8 percent nationwide.

“I love being a part of this annual Sandia tradition and seeing how happy our employees are giving back to the community,” said Katrina Wagner, community relations specialist at Sandia Labs. “Meat is expensive these days and food pantries really need donations of protein, so this is a great way to help feed families that might not otherwise be able to buy a turkey for the holidays.”