Rancid turkeys delivered to Haines Senior Center

Senior Center staff and a food distributor are working to deliver a Thanksgiving meal to about 80 people after five spoiled turkeys landed in the Haines terminal of Alaska seaplanes. In early November, Haines Senior Center staff member Crystal Verhamme ordered about $200 worth of frozen turkeys for the center’s annual Thanksgiving lunch. Two weeks later, five turkeys arrived in Haines beyond thawed. “It was really bad,” Verhamme said. “When the pilot arrived in Haines, the people who work here at our Seaplanes said he was really disgusted.” It was another day before the senior center learned the rancid birds were waiting to be picked up, Verhamme said. She had to open them to photograph them and sort out who had put frozen food on a dry goods pallet. “It was really disgusting and my nose is super, super sensitive,” she said. Verhamme said Alaska Seaplanes staff were great to work with. “They [said] if this is our fault, we will definitely replace the turkeys and we will fly them to you as soon as possible,” she said. It turns out the distributor, US Foods, is at fault, Verhamme said. “They have several vendors and I guess maybe what happened is that one of the vendors . didn’t understand that parts of Alaska’s FedEx do not have facilities to hold and care for frozen items,” she said. US Foods has not yet responded to a request for comment. Verhamme said she was told the distributor would replace the turkeys it would call people in Juneau and try to deliver turkeys as soon as possible. But, it’s a tight turnaround. The senior center scheduled Thanksgiving lunch for Tuesday and Verhamme’s preparing to cook for about 80 people. Verhamme said anyone in town willing to donate some spare turkeys, then she’d love to have them particularly if they’re boneless. If they’re frozen, the center would prefer to receive them sooner the better, so the turkeys can be thawed in time. The senior center’s lunch starts at noon. Aside from the tentative turkey, Verhamme said they’ll have cranberry sauce, rolls, stuffing, hot veggies and potentially a cherry cheesecake.
https://www.chilkatvalleynews.com/2025/11/21/rancid-turkeys-delivered-to-haines-senior-center/