Springfield celebrates the 29th annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - The 29th annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk will run through downtown Springfield on Thursday morning.

The Developmental Center of the Ozarks (DCO) and the Springfield-Greene County Park Board Youth Recreation Scholarship Fund are partners of the event. Turkey Trot is also one of the largest food drives of the year for Ozarks Food Harvest.

Those participating may also register on-site and drop off five nonperishable food items for Ozarks Food Harvest. Jordan Browning with Ozarks Food Harvest said the donations make a huge difference to the community.

“It’s incredibly beneficial to the Ozarks right now, especially because we are feeding more people than ever,” Browning said. “Right now, we’re feeding more than 70,000 people each month. So that’s 20,000 more than we were doing near the height of the pandemic. So these donations are incredibly needed right now.”

Browning also said all canned food items are needed, but some are especially needed this time of year.

“If you’re trying to think of an item to donate, please do something that’s not near its expiration date. If you can, protein items like canned tuna and canned chicken are especially needed because those are some of the most expensive items for us to source,” Browning said.”

You can pick packets up on race day from 6-7:15 a.m. at the Springfield Expo Center. There’s still time to register, even on the event day. Full price registration is $35/Adults, $30/Kids 12 and under.

You can find more details on Turkey Trot on the Park Board’s website.

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