November 19th, 2025
By: WOOD TV
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Mel Trotter Ministries held its annual Turkey Drop Wednesday, aiming to collect thousands of frozen turkeys for those in need.
Turkeys were collected from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at several locations across West Michigan.
Leaders initially set a goal of at least 5,000 turkeys. By about 6 p.m., they had already collected nearly 5,600, so they set their sights on the stretch goal of 6,500. By the end of the night, Mel Trotter’s website showed 5,915 turkeys had been collected.
They told News 8 the need was great this year.
“Last year, we surpassed the target,” Mel Trotter CEO Chris Palusky said ahead of the Turkey Drop. “This year, I’m a little nervous, because you know what? It’s been a more challenging year, we’ve seen inflation. So I want to challenge the community: Please come out. We want to not just hit the 5,000 — I would love to go past 6,000, so I want to challenge the community.”
