Thanksgiving week is special for the Nationals, who not only enjoy the celebrations but also take the time to give back to the community as the holiday season officially gets underway.

Turkeypalooza, Nationals Philanthropies’ annual holiday meal distribution event, served packaged Thanksgiving meals to people in the D.C. community last week leading up to Thursday’s holiday.

On Monday, volunteers from the Nationals front office and partners AARP, Giant Food and DoorDash, members of the Lerner family including principal owner Mark Lerner, current players CJ Abrams and James Wood, and team legend Ryan Zimmerman packed meal kits that included a turkey, fresh produce and shelf-stable food items and then distributed them outside the center field gate at Nats Park.

“This is a great opportunity,” said Wood, who grew up in nearby Montgomery County, Md. “I’m just happy to be able to stop by and do whatever I can to help out the community a little bit.”

“It’s always good to give back,” said Abrams, who has spent the majority of his four-year major league career in Washington. “Coming out here, handing out turkeys at the stadium, couldn’t ask for a better day.”

The first distribution event started at 3 p.m. on Monday, with people lining up along the block of N Street outside the stadium and patiently waiting for their meal kits. Three more took place across the city later in the week.

“By Thanksgiving, we will have distributed about 1,100 turkeys and complete holiday meal kits,” said Nationals Philanthropies vice president and executive director Lauren McCarthy. “Each bag includes fresh produce, boxed mac and cheese, boxed stuffing, cranberry sauce and then of course a whole fresh turkey to go with it.”

Nationals Philanthropies gives back to the community all year long, but the main event is Turkeypalooza, which is now in its eighth year.

“Nationals Philanthropies focuses on food access year-round, but it’s especially acute during the holidays,” said McCarthy. “So we’re excited to be able to give back to our community in this way.

“This is our eighth year doing Turkeypalooza. It started with just a few hundred turkeys over at our Youth Baseball Academy in Ward 7 and it has grown to what we see here today.”

It's a point of pride for the organization, as the event has grown every year.

“We’re proud, but we’re also just thrilled to have the support to be able to do it because the community needs us,” McCarthy said. “It’s our responsibility to feed the folks around Nationals Park and around D.C. who can use the support, especially this week. So we’re thrilled to have the support. Proud of our team, proud of our Nationals players who supported us today. And just thrilled we can support the community in this way.”

The growth of the event is not only evident in the number of people who attend and the number of turkeys distributed, but in the increase in player involvement as they take time in their precious offseason to help out.

“I think the offseason is even a better time to do it,” said Wood. “There are just a lot more opportunities, so I’m just very happy to be able to come out here.

“It’s just cool seeing the support. Seeing a few Nats hats. Seeing some people who have been cheering us on from the stands out here. And just being able to give back.”

“A lot more time and opportunities,” said Abrams. “The fans are year-round. So to give back when we’re off is always good.

“Putting smiles on people’s faces makes me smile, too. So happy Thanksgiving to them!”