Koo Koo Roo is talking turkey instead of chicken this Thanksgiving with its donation of 2,500 pounds of the holiday bird to the Los Angeles Mission to help feed the homeless. That’s enough turkey to feed over 16,500 people at the Mission for two weeks. Leftovers, anyone?

“This makes it possible for us to help hundreds of people this holiday season,” said Ron Gonzales, CEO of the Los Angeles Mission. “Without the help of caring businesses such as Koo Koo Roo and thousands of donors, we would not be able to do the work we are doing on the streets of downtown Los Angeles.”

“We are pleased to be able to come alongside the Los Angeles Mission as it seeks to make a difference in the lives of people,” said Gayle A. DeBrosse, President of Koo Koo Roo, Inc. “Our team members are happy to volunteer and roll up their shirt sleeves for important efforts such as this.”

Koo Koo Roo Executives loaded a ton of turkey into a truck and escorted it in a caravan from Irvine to the Los Angeles Mission in Downtown L.A. There they were joined by Gonzales and Ron Brown, Executive Director of the Mission, other staff and long-term rehabilitation program participants to unload the fresh turkeys into waiting coolers.

Koo Koo Roo has been ranked by Zagat’s as one of the top 5 most frequented restaurants in Los Angeles. Koo Koo Roo began in Los Angeles in 1988 and now has more than 30 locations in the region alone.

For over 50 years, the Los Angeles Mission has served the people of Skid Row, providing emergency services such as shelter, food, clothing, as well as professional medical and dental services. In addition, the Los Angeles Mission also offers long-term residential rehabilitation programs including education, job training/placement, transitional housing and counseling.

On November 22, the Los Angeles Mission will serve a traditional Thanksgiving meal to thousands of homeless and poor people on Skid Row. The Los Angeles Mission is participating in the 2000 Great Thanksgiving Banquet as part of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions’ weeklong Thanksgiving outreach to the homeless and poor the week of November 20. Volunteers at more than 250 Rescue Missions across America will provide 275,000 meals to the needy in their communities.