Last Sunday, 11.24, the Beacon Foundation partnered with Conscious Alliance to assemble a community meal giveaway for the Swannanoa Valley — Operation Turkey.

Between 8 am and 4:30 pm, volunteers manned five smokers and served up 100 cooked turkeys in time for Thanksgiving.

“My first handoff with a Beacon Village resident was so moving. I loaded the pan into his car and he got out to give me a tear-filled hug,” recalled Beacon COO, Micah Pulleyn.

“We cried together and I could feel the sincerity and grief in his voice. He kept telling me how simple yet powerful the offering of a turkey is, especially when they have lost so much.”

The Beacon Foundation and Conscious Alliance were joined by other community organizations including Blunt Pretzel, World Central Kitchen, Eurosport Asheville who donated turkeys, Chop Shop Asheville who provided an extra smoker and helped cook turkeys, Form + Function who donated kiln-dried wood, and over a dozen local volunteers including students from Warren Wilson, a Swannanoa Liberal Arts college.

It was a meaningful event for all involved as the community came together to ensure they were prepared for the Thanksgiving holiday.

“All I know is that the folks who volunteered to be there were determined to pour as much love into those turkeys and make them so damn tasty. There was a lot of joy and laughter, not without the weight of reality in this moment in time. I think the guys who came out there left with just as full of hearts as our neighbors. That’s how it works, y’all. Community heals,” concluded Pulleyn.

The stop in Swannanoa was just one of several Conscious Alliance made during their road trip against hunger this Fall. Through their efforts, this non-profit has delivered over 1 MILLION pounds of turkey across the U.S. We are so grateful they decided to partner with the Beacon Foundation and make a stop in Swannanoa.

Follow all Conscious Alliance updates on Instagram: Instagram (@consciousalliance) .

The Beacon Foundation is beyond grateful for every organization and volunteer who came out and made this community meal giveaway a success.