Whole Foods Market Heritage Breed Turkey Giveaway

I’m excited to share a tasty giveaway that the Whole Foods Market stores and I have cooked up here in Portland, Oregon. One lucky Go Gingham reader will be the recipient of a heritage breed turkey to serve on Thanksgiving day to your family!

Not being a turkey expert or really knowing the history of heritage breed turkeys (or honestly even giving it much thought) reading and writing up this post has been an enlightening experience for me. We’ve always gotten our Thanksgiving turkeys for free (or at a reduced price ) at our grocery store for spending a certain dollar amount during the month of November. Reading all of this material has really opened my eyes about turkeys and how they’re raised.

What makes a heritage breed turkey special? I’m glad you asked.

Heritage breed turkeys aren’t your typical grocery store plastic wrapped fluid injected turkey. What makes these turkeys special is that they’re the same breeds of turkeys that the pilgrims ate. They’re important because these historical turkey breeds have been brought back to life and made easily accessible. Well, easier than going out and shooting your own turkey that’s living in the wild.

Heritage breed turkeys were not so long ago an almost dying breed but have literally been saved by a slow, intentional way of raising poultry: on a farm, eating, and exercising. No artificial insemination for these birds!

The taste is better because heritage breed turkeys have eaten a varied diet and allowed to live outdoors and move around, much like our backyard chickens. They’ve been given the opportunity to peck around and eat bugs, munch on grass, snack on grubs, and stretch their wings. I wonder if they have hen-pecking happening in their coops, too?

Roger Mastrude, from the Heritage Turkey Foundation, had this to share:

“These turkeys taste great! You should feature one for your Thanksgiving dinner, as a way of continuing our heritage with a more naturally and humanely-raised bird.”

There is a hitch to this giveaway: It’s for Portland, Oregon area readers only because you have to be able to pick up the heritage breed turkey yourself at one of the Portland area Whole Foods Market stores because this prize can’t be shipped. If you don’t live in the Portland area, please let your friends and family who do live here know about it. If they win, maybe they’ll invite you to Thanksgiving dinner!

Whole Foods Market Heritage Breed Turkey Giveaway

There are several ways you can earn entries in this giveaway and you are encouraged to do so. You have to leave a separate comment telling me you did each of these tasks and I’ll keep track of them below.

Each task or action is good for one entry. You may enter 10 times. If you’re already doing one of these actions, that still counts as an entry but you have to tell me what the action is in a comment below so that I can keep track.

1. Leave a comment telling me which you prefer – white meat, dark meat or neither – maybe you’re a tofurky lover!
2. Like Whole Foods Market PDX on Facebook
3. Like Go Gingham on Facebook
4. Follow Whole Foods Market PDX on Twitter
5. Follow Go Gingham on Twitter
6. Sign up to receive Go Gingham updates by email
7. Follow Go Gingham on Pinterest
8. Follow Go Gingham on Instagram
9. Tweet this giveaway on Twitter:

Thanks to @WholeFoodsPDX @GoGingham 4 cooking up Heritage Breed Turkey #Giveaway #Thanksgiving! http://bit.ly/UdPaWS #Portland

More giveaway details…

• Giveaway ends on Monday, November 12th, 2012 at 9am (PST) and will be announced via email and in a post.
• Winner to be chosen using random number generator.
• Winner will be notified by email and will need to pick up their heritage breed turkey from a Portland (OR) area Whole Foods Market store. The turkey will not be shipped.
• If you’re reading this post in your email in-box, you have to click over to my site to leave a comment. You can’t hit the “reply button” and have it count.

For more information about heritage foods and what’s available check out “Heritage Foods USA” and where you can purchase heritage foods in your hometown.

“The New York Times” has an excellent article about heritage turkey breeds called, “The Hunt for a Truly Grand Turkey, One That Nature Built” by Marian Burros.

Esquire magazine also has a good article about heritage turkeys titled, “Why You Should Buy a Heritage Turkey This Thanksgiving” under their category, “Food for Men.” Who knew men had special food?

For more information about the Whole Foods Market company and why they call themselves, “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store,” please check here.

Thank you.

Thank you to the Whole Foods Market Store for this giveaway to a lucky Portland (Oregon) area reader and for providing my family with a heritage breed turkey to enjoy this past weekend. It was delicious and I’m making broth today to use in our Thanksgiving day gravy.

Thank you to the Heritage Turkey Foundation for letting my use the above image.