This Sunday, the line stretched down the block at the intersection of Euclid and Imperial avenues in Lincoln Park with people waiting to get a free turkey.
For many, the signature dish at this year's Thanksgiving meal is not in the budget.
So Armand King, CEO of the nonprofit Paving Great Futures, organized a turkey giveaway.
"We're doing this to give back and really build our community," he said. "This is prevention work you're seeing, this is intervention work that you're seeing. The people here are from different communities, it's not just one neighborhood. People who wouldn't normally mix and mingle are together. This is grassroots at its finest. This is how our community is transforming."
Using a donation from the local law firm King Aminpour, volunteers bought and distributed 500 turkeys. That's double the amount from last year.
They gave the turkeys away at an intersection that was once called "Four Corners of Death" because it saw so many gang murders, but has been reclaimed by the community and renamed "Four Corners of Life."
"We're constantly transforming that narrative of death because there's a lot of life, a lot of love and a lot of positivity in this community," King said.
On Friday evening not too far away, another group gathered outside the United Missionary Baptist Church. Pastor Ray Smith said they planned to give out 200 turkeys.
"We've seen a lot of smiles today, lot of children who are very happy, seen some families who are coming crying, saying we didn't think we were going to have a Thanksgiving this year," Smith said.
He said the church screens families to make sure they're in need. The goal, he said, is to feed everyone who needs it in the area within a few years.
"We've been so overlooked and neglected over the years, so now we're trying to take matters into our own hands," he said.
