25,000 pounds of perfectly safe turkey donated (presumably to some population we might call “needy”). I suppose the tax write-off from the donation exceeded what the company deemed they could sell the damaged turkeys for on the market. 

I’m always uncertain about what to think of this very common tactic dressed as some form of corporate social responsibility. If the turkeys are perfectly safe as the article claims, why not sell them on the conventional wholesale market, perhaps at a discount? Conversely, why not donate 25,000 pounds of un-damaged (un-spilled? road rash free?) turkey? It seems all too easy to see the accounting wizardry that likely went on behind the veil of this opportunistic charity. It also reveals how we think about the “needy” relative to those who are not. Namely, it suggests that there is a class of goods suitable or safe only for those in need, but which would be unacceptable or unfit for everyone else.