The 2023 holiday season officially kicked off yesterday with Thanksgiving, but the Nationals got a head start to the season of giving earlier this week.

This week Washington Nationals Philanthropies hosted Turkeypalooza, its now sixth annual food distribution event across the D.C. area.

“Turkeypalooza is an annual event that Washington Nationals Philanthropies hosts, in partnership with BetMGM now for the second year,” said Tal Alter, CEO of Nationals Philanthropies. “We're going to distribute 900 turkeys over the next few days, which means 3,600 different meal units being presented to members of the community who are unfortunately food insecure. At this time of year, it's just incredibly important for everyone to be able to celebrate the holidays with dignity, and food is the fundamental piece of that.”

The event started on Monday in front of the BetMGM sportsbook outside Nationals Park with volunteers handing out turkeys and bags filled with shelf-stable items and fresh produce. Nats outfielder Stone Garrett was even in attendance to help out with the distribution.

“Our fans support us all season long, so to give back to the community, it means a lot,” Garrett said. “It means a lot, especially during the holiday season.”

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From the time they arrived from Montreal before the 2005 season, the Nationals have been a mainstay in the Washington, D.C., sports scene. But the Nats are also very active in the community, working diligently over the past decade to touch the lives of many in the region and proving that baseball has a further reach than wins and losses, balls and strikes, batters and pitchers. Each Thursday through mid-August, MASNsports.com's Byron Kerr will explore the Nationals' community outreach...

From the time they arrived from Montreal before the 2005 season, the Nationals have been a mainstay in the Washington, D.C., sports scene. But the Nats are also very active in the community, working diligently over the past decade to touch the lives of many in the region and proving that baseball has a further reach than wins and losses, balls and strikes, batters and pitchers. Each Thursday through mid-August, MASNsports.com's Byron Kerr will explore the Nationals' community outreach...

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