Michelle Walker-Wade helps gather turkeys as part of the 2022 Take a Turkey to Work Day at Sandia National Laboratories. (Photo by Craig Fritz) Click on thumbnail for high resolution image.

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.”

Media are invited to attend the delivery of the turkey donations to Roadrunner Food Bank
What: Bring a Turkey to Work Day donation delivery
When: 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14
Where: Roadrunner Food Bank, 5840 Office Blvd. N.E. 
Media Contact: Kim Vallez Quintana, kdquint@sandia.gov, 505-537-3294

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California.