Efforts ranged from a record breaking donation of tur keys to a fourth appearance in the world famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to a trip to the White House, where U.S. President Joe Biden pardoned two Jennie-O® turkeys. And there were many other things in between.
This year’s Thanksgiving lineup was a proverbial cornucopia of events and generosity:
- Jennie-O is now in the “Guinness Book of World Records” for the largest donation of turkeys in a 24 hour period. Working in tandem with NBC’s “Today” show, an astonishing 15,120 turkeys tipping the scales at 320,450 pounds were donated in a single day. Overall, we donated more than 20,000 birds this year.
- On Nov. 20, Steve Lykken, Jennie-O president and National Turkey Federation chairman, traveled to Washington, D.C., to present the National Thanksgiving Turkeys to the country’s commander in chief. Biden exercised his executive power to pardon Liberty and Bell during the 76th National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation at the White House. The birds are now living out their days at the University of Minnesota, drawing attention to the importance of animal agriculture.
- The Jennie-O float appeared for the fourth time in the celebrated Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, an extravaganza that winds its way through the streets of Manhattan. The glittered covered turkey float featured hip hop/R&B artist Paul Russell, known best for his viral TikTok song and smash hit “Lil Boo Thang.” Hormel Foods team members Hailey Tranchitella , associate brand manager for Retail marinated meats and fresh pork; Jessica Trzcinko, customer business manager for Retail; and Brian Olson, manager of corporate communications; were in the Big Apple to walk alongside the float.
- We teamed up with the Minnesota Wild pro hockey franchise to give away 2,000 turkeys to families in need.
