54 years of giving: Roosevelt’s "Operation Holiday Basket"

It’s known as the “turkey tunnel.”

The frozen turkeys are being handed down a tunnel formed by more than 100 Roosevelt High School students, staff and alums. When a turkey reaches the end of the human assembly line, it’s placed on top of one of 300 boxes lined up on the gym floor. The boxes are already overflowing with all the trimmings: vegetables, sides, desserts and more. A line of cars waits outside, ready to deliver those boxes to families in the community. 

This is “Operation Holiday Basket,” a Teddy tradition that has fed some 16,000 families over 54 years. Roosevelt teacher and coach Freeman McInroy and Gary Lewis started this event in 1970 when staff members noticed that some students and their families didn’t have enough to eat over the break. They helped about 60 families. “Mac” passed away in 2020, but Lewis continues fundraising for the event. “I’ll be doing this until I’m 100 years old!” he said, loading up a box with food.

Principal Christian Ledesma took in the scene of generations of Teddies working shoulder to shoulder. He explained that this is how Roosevelt puts the school motto into practice: “Enter to learn, leave to serve.”

Service does become a life-long habit for lots of students. Some Teddies have carried this tradition to the ends of the earth. “In Peru, in July, they were still calling it ‘Operation Holiday Basket,’” said public relations coordinator Christol Schultz, who is also a Roosevelt alum.

Roosevelt junior Josh Muy admits he was initially attracted to the idea of volunteering to get out of class. That changed, especially when he took on a leadership role for Operation Holiday Basket. Muy said, “It feels absolutely amazing to help others and give back to the community, especially right here around Roosevelt.”

Check out some local coverage of Operation Holiday Basket:

Spokesman-Recorder

Longfellow-Nokomis Messenger