Campus & community

UC police and students deliver 100 turkeys and Thanksgiving fixins to University Village families

It was the 11th annual UCPD turkey drive. It was also the wettest.

By Jason Pohl

A person wearing a Berkeley Safewalk jacket reaches toward boxes in the back of a cargo van, while another person standing outside the van hands boxes to others.
After loading a van with 100 Thanksgiving meals at Crossroads dining commons, teams at University Village divided them into vehicles so that they could be distributed throughout the sprawling apartment complex.

Stanley Luo/UC Berkeley
Five people stand near a white van, consulting a list of addresses to for meal deliveries while rain streaks down in the foreground
Working from a list of names and addresses, UC Berkeley police and Community Service Officers came up with a plan to distribute the meals.

Stanley Luo/UC Berkeley
People inside a vehicle hand boxes of food to others outside the vehicle while also coordinating where the various apartments are located.
The rain picked up as the afternoon went on and teams fanned out across the UC Berkeley's apartment complex in Albany, which houses students with families.

Stanley Luo/UC Berkeley
A person in the lower right reviews a piece of paper with addresses while 6 people carrying boxes of food walk toward a building
With a rain-soaked list of addresses and recipients, Sgt. Jacob Westlie ensured students had complete meal kits and the right destination.

Stanley Luo/UC Berkeley
A smiling man standing in a doorway received a box handed to him by two people
Each year, University Village residents apply to be recipients of the turkey drive, and University Village Management works with its community leaders to identify families in need. Most — but not all — people are expecting the delivery.

Stanley Luo/UC Berkeley
A person wearing a sweatshirt reaches for a box of produce being handed over by a woman wearing a blue Safewalk jacket
The deliveries included a box of vegetables, a frozen turkey and a gift card.

Stanley Luo/UC Berkeley
A smiling person looks at a box of produce while a man prepares to hand over a frozen turkey.
In total, 100 families received meals as part of the turkey drive. Sgt. Jake Westlie, right, said it was "a special way for UCPD to connect with the UC Berkeley community as well as make a meaningful impact on our UVA families."

Stanley Luo/UC Berkeley
Approximately two-dozen smiling people stand posed for a photo in a loading bay, near the van that delivered the meals to University Village. Three of the people are holding frozen turkeys and produce.
The annual turkey drive is made possible by Cal Dining, the campus’s Residential Student Services Program, UCPD, the Federated University Police Officers’ Association and University Village resident association management.

Jason Pohl/UC Berkeley

November 25, 2024

The rain waited until it was time to load the frozen turkeys. 

The deluge began when it was time to deliver them. 

But nonetheless, an army of some two dozen UC Berkeley students, staff and police officers on Friday fanned out across University Village to deliver 100 Thanksgiving meals and gift cards. It was the 11th year of the turkey drive at the campus’s apartment complex in Albany, which houses students with families. It was also the wettest. 

Each year, University Village residents apply to be recipients of the turkey drive, and University Village Management works with its community leaders to identify families in need. On Friday, Community Service Organization student workers and sworn police officers traipsed through ankle-deep puddles and endured umbrella-twisting winds to make the special deliveries.

“The turkey drive is a special way for UCPD to connect with the UC Berkeley community as well as make a meaningful impact on our UVA families,” said UCPD Sgt. Jake Westlie, who helped organize the operation.

The turkeys and produce were provided by Cal Dining and the gift cards by UCPD and the Federated University Police Officers’ Association.