No turkeys were reported fleeing Thanksgiving dinner in formation this year. What did happen, according to DiscoverAirdrie.com, was a very different kind of turkey story: an Airdrie fundraiser that is now expected to deliver more than 200 birds to a local food bank.
According to the DiscoverAirdrie.com report, the AIR 106.1 Turkey Twofer fundraiser at Calgary Co-op in Airdrie initially generated a reported 140 turkeys on Oct. 8, with Co-op then topping up its contribution the following day. The outlet reported that the Airdrie Food Bank now expects to receive more than 200 turkeys and $414 in cash donations, though the final number had not been confirmed. For every turkey purchased during Thursday’s event, another was donated to the food bank through the matching initiative, the outlet reported.
“Donate the thing you would miss the most on your table — and a lot of people would say turkey.”
The report said representatives from AIR 106.1 and the Airdrie Food Bank were on hand from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. as shoppers stopped by to support the cause. Danielle Domshy, events coordinator with the Airdrie Food Bank, shared the initial results Friday morning, according to the outlet. “Thank you for holding this event again this year and supporting the Airdrie Food Bank. It truly makes a difference,” Domshy wrote in an email to organizers, as quoted by DiscoverAirdrie.com.
The outlet also reported comments from Christine Arsenault, the food bank’s marketing and communications manager, who spoke ahead of Thursday’s fundraiser about why holiday staples matter. “Thanksgiving and Christmas, we always need turkeys,” Arsenault said, according to the report. “It helps us provide families with, you know, something special for their holiday meal.” The outlet quoted Arsenault further: “When people ask me, ‘What should we donate at holiday time?’ I always say, ‘Donate the thing you would miss the most on your table,’” adding that many residents name turkey as that item.
DiscoverAirdrie.com reported that the fundraiser was supported by Calgary Co-op along with local businesses ATR Logistics, Rustic Ranch Furniture Ltd., Airdrie Trailer Sales Ltd., Airdrie Paint and Blinds, and Quest Braces, and that the Airdrie Food Bank continues to accept donations throughout the year.
The turkey giveaway came as a separate report from CityNews Calgary found Thanksgiving dinner itself getting more expensive. Citing a Dalhousie University study, CityNews reported the average turkey dinner for four would cost around $36 in Canada, a 10 per cent increase from the previous year, with a 7-pound turkey rising from under $11 in 2025 to over $12.50. CityNews reported that a 4.5-pound turkey it found in Calgary cost $25, with one shopper calling it “the best price you can find in town.” Dr. Sylvain Charlebois of Dalhousie’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab told the outlet that rising diesel prices were driving the increases: “The correlation between diesel prices and food prices is frighteningly high.” CityNews reported that diesel prices in Canada had surged 71 per cent compared to a year earlier, reaching 260.7 cents per litre, according to analytics firm Kalibrate, with Charlebois attributing the pressure to wars in the Middle East and Russia. Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy told the outlet that market turbulence could still push prices further despite a recent drop in diesel prices stateside.