Winter is the hardest time of the year for Native families on the reservations on the Great Plains where wind chill factors can drop down into the negative double digits as they try to stay warm in their drafty mobile homes and conserve the propane in their tanks.

In addition to the turkeys, the food boxes contain chicken nuggets, scalloped potatoes, frozen squash and kale and even cake for dessert – enough food to feed a family of four for at least a week.

Dave noted that in recent years the turkeys and food boxes have been distributed throughout all nine districts of the Pine Ridge reservation (one of the largest in the nation, larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined) as district representatives volunteer to drive their trucks and take the turkeys and food boxes back to the people in their communities.