Amazon Begins Offering Free Turkey
The online mega-retailer is leveraging its acquisition of Whole Foods to try to get more people hooked on Amazon Fresh by offering a free turkey with the purchase of at least $100 in groceries.
Plenty of supermarket chains have turkey promotions of their own, albeit with minimum transaction sizes that appear to vary by individual store.
Some store locations might not be participating in the promotion or may have run out of the type of turkey promised in the offer — so you probably want to call the stores before assuming the following deals are available.
Albertson’s is offering participants in the company’s loyalty program a free Signature Farms turkey of any size with the purchase of $150 in groceriese through Nov 22. Apparently you can’t count alcohol, tobacco, gift cards and guest services toward the minimum transaction size.
A circular for ShopRite in White Oak, Maryland says that shoppers can redeem their loyalty points for a free frozen turkey weighing up to 21 pounds. The amount of spending to qualify is $300 — and you have the option of redeeming that bonus for ham, tofurkey or kosher chicken instead and the offer lasts through Nov. 23.
Complex Discounts
The ShopRite circular also touted a series of complicated discounts on the price per pound of fresh turkey — an unspecified minimum purchase lets you pay less per pound than you would without that prerequisite: 50 cents per pound for a ShopRite fresh grade A turkey that’s up to 21 pounds in size, or $1.99 per pound without the minimum purchase; $1 per pound or $2.49 per pound for a fresh Butterball grade A turkey of up to 21 pounds in size.
A Fareway supermarket in Des Moines, Iowa is offering a free 14-pound broth basted turkey withe purchase of $50 or more at meat counter — the offer lasts through Nov. 22.
Participants in Weis Markets‘ loyalty program could redeem 50 loyalty points — the equivalent of $250 in spending — for a free frozen turkey weighing up to 50 pounds.
Earlier this month, Safeway offered a free turkey with a minimum grocery purchase ranging from $100 to $150, depending on location. The offer expired on Nov. 14.
Look for Coupons and Contests
Thanksgiving-themed coupons abound, and one subset of these might include discounts on turkey — or even free gift cards you might apply toward turkey.
Look for discarded receipts in your shopping cart — printed on the same paper as them are what are called catalina coupons. Or, scan local newspapers’ shopping and food sections for coupons.
Although turkey seems to be an exception to the inflation in food prices due to lagging demand, contests offering free turkey as prizes seem to still be around.
If you want to score one, search the internet for free turkey contests in your location — and save the search results so you receive notifications year round.
Then pay attention to local radio and television commericals that might mention free turkey. Finally, look for turkey giveaways by local businesses hoping to reel in holiday shoppers.
Barter or Leftovers
Another way to get free turkey: Look on Craigslist, in the community section. There you might find some people who are opening their doors to people who need a place to go on Thanksgiving.
Then you could post your own ad in the barter section — or even in the wanted section — and put forward anything you have to trade for turkey. Depending on how you phrase your post, you might get lucky, especially if you’re open to receiving leftovers.
You don’t have to get this creative to receive free leftover turkey — assuming, that is, you have friends or family who still invite you over for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
If you’re with family and there’s a lot of uneaten turkey left at he end of the evening, you might not even have to ask before you are offered leftovers to take home.
Charities Offering Free Turkey
Soup kitchens and other charities tend to serve free turkey to the indigent on Thanksgiving and Christmas; if you’re not indigent, you won’t want to wait in the long lines are typically par for the course in these meals.
Food banks also give away turkeys during the holiday season, but you might need to already be a recipient of groceries from them or meet other criteria — including applying for the privilege.
A much nicer way to approach charities offering turkey to the indigent: Volunteer to help serve. That has a way of instilling a deep sense of gratitude, which is the true spirit of Thanksgiving.
Readers, where are you planning to have turkey dinner this year?
(Photo courtesy of Shannon Clark)