These days after Black Friday and before December 25 mean lots of things to different folks. Mobbed malls. Hopeful and expectant kids. Family gatherings near and far. Lots of packages on that doorstep. Perhaps a beautiful church service or cantata. And for me? Really wonderful homemade Italian and more than a bit of football.
But for families in remote parts of Alaska, these days mean something very different. It’s all about those turkey bombs.
In a fascinating article, Caroline Fanning writes about “The Great Alaska Turkey Bomb.” She describes how a cadre of volunteer pilots have been dropping 15-pound frozen turkey bombs – as well as some extra goodies like candy, cocoa, coffee, toys, and handwritten notes – on vulnerable families in the remote regions of Alaska during the Holidays since 2021.
The turkey bombers shared how this time of year is a tricky one in their part of the world. Alaska’s superhighways – the rivers – are already too frozen to navigate. Fresh food, at best, is seven hours away on a snowmobile.
That means that when a family hears the plane making that nyeerrhhh sound as the house is buzzed and the wings are tipped, they know a difference maker is about to drop. Fanning paints the picture of the videos those pilots have received of “kids opening bags and jumping up and down … with uncontrollable excitement.”
While I understand that many of Kentucky’s kids need and would delight in a similar Turkey Bomb Project in the Commonwealth, they need more than turkeys and stuffed animals.
They need leaders in Frankfort who care and who act on that caring.
As laid out in the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children 2026 priority agenda, Kentucky’s kids need budget investments to support kinship families and hard hitting policies that reduce sexual abuse and exploitation. Our young people need budget investments to strengthen their legal representation and policies to promote housing and food stability. Young kids with disabilities need more responsive early childhood settings and our teenagers need real supports on issues from vaping to mental health.
One of the turkey bombers reflects, “The kids have a special place in my heart …!” And I hope kids have a special place in your heart as well.
If they do, call your state Representative and your state Senator TODAY. Not tomorrow. Not after the legislative session has begun on January 6th – today. And challenge them – can I say demand of them? – to support ideas to lift the well-being of our children in every corner of the Commonwealth.
Kentucky’s kids need you to launch a different kind of turkey bomb blitz right now. While the latest Kentucky KIDS COUNT Data Dashboard shows improvements in several indicators of child well-being, one in five young Kentuckians live in poverty and face food insecurity, among other immense challenges often exacerbated by where the child grows up.
The pilots talk about how their efforts are the difference between a family relishing a delicious turkey dinner on Christmas day or “carving up squirrel and dishing Spam.”
For me the seminal question around the 2026 state legislative session is learning exactly how kids stack up in our lawmakers’ priorities. Will our kids get substantial, common sense, and focused policy wins or merely political Spam?
Turkey bombs away!
Dr. Terry Brooks is the executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. Learn more at kyyouth.org.