Many local shoppers have come to expect getting a free bird at area supermarkets, which offer them to customers who spend a certain amount of money -- anywhere between $200 and $300 -- in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

Nancy and Richard Karr of Willow Street host their three grown children and one grandchild at Thanksgiving.

The couple, shopping at Darrenkamp's, like the supermarket's giveaway.

"It's a nice added thing,'' Mrs. Karr says.

Area grocery officials say the giveaways help them retain and reward their customers.

But one chain, which doesn't offer the promotion, says it's just a gimmick that shoppers end up paying for in the end.

Even some big turkey producers, such as Butterball, apparently don't like the November giveaways. When shoppers get a free turkey, often a lower-grade bird, they don't end up buying a higher-grade bird. That cuts into business.

Still, it appears free turkeys have become as much a part of Thanksgiving as the Macy's Day parade and football games.

"Most stores do it,'' says Denny Hopkins, spokesman for Giant Food Stores. "I think the consumers know there's going to be some type of deal out there on turkeys.'' Local supermarkets started offering free turkeys within the past five years, as a way of attracting and keeping customers.

By requiring shoppers to "earn'' points for the free turkeys through the dollars they spend, the giveaways promote repeat visits.

Plus, the promotions might draw in new customers, who will try the store several times and then end up becoming regulars there.

Also, the programs often require shoppers to use a "bonus card,'' which offers them other discounts and are designed to continue drawing customers back to a store.

Promotions vary slightly from store to store.

Giant Food Stores and Weis Markets offer bonus-card shoppers who spend $250 a choice of a free 10- to 20-pound turkey, a savings of 70 cents a pound on another turkey, or a 10 percent discount on a future shopping order.

Darrenkamp's, Oregon Dairy, Yoder's Country Market and John Herr's Village Market give bonus-card shoppers a $5 gift certificate for every $200 they spend. Customers typically earn enough certificates for a 10-pound turkey, which costs about $8, store officials say.

Stauffers of Kissel Hill, which does not use bonus cards, offers a free 10- to 12-pound turkey to shoppers who spend $300. Or shoppers can use their voucher toward the purchase of another turkey.

"We're rewarding our regular customers and keeping them coming every week,'' says Joe Darrenkamp, president of Darrenkamp's Markets. "In a day when people shop around, it's a good way to build loyalty.'' The giveaway is very popular, Darrenkamp says.

"It's such a warm fuzzy,'' he says. "Anytime you give somebody something for free, it works.'' Another reason that the promotions are such a draw is that Thanksgiving dinner is a reliable tradition, Hopkins says.

Unlike Christmas, which has morphed into a free-for-all feast of anything from shrimp to lasagna to party trays, Thanksgiving is a time when nearly everyone eats turkey.

"It's the featured item for Thanksgiving,'' Hopkins says. "It's the center-of-the-plate concept.'' But Weis Markets thinks customers like having a choice, too.

Not everyone roasts a bird but may bring a side dish to a relative's home. That customer might prefer a discount on a future visit.

"We want to make sure each customer had an option that would meet their needs,'' says Jennifer Ellsworth-Aults, Weis spokeswoman.

Many stores also offer customers the option of donating their free turkey to a local charity. Giant collects the coupons and converts them into gift cards for food banks that don't have large warehouses to store frozen turkeys.

At least one local chain does not offer free turkeys, saying it's a "gimmick.'' There's no such thing as a free lunch or a free turkey, says Eric White, spokesman for Redner's Warehouse Markets.

"Some way or another, you're paying for it,'' he says. "They can absorb the cost of the turkey from the profit they make on an item that is marked up higher.'' Redner's, which promotes itself as a discount grocer, offers customers low prices year-round, White says.

Hopkins scoffs at the notion that stores jack up their prices to pay for free turkeys.

"We absorb the costs as the part of the way we do business,'' he says. "The customer is not paying for it.'' Supermarkets that offer the promotions say they give away a lot of turkeys in November.

Last year, Darrenkamp's gave away 4,561 turkeys, worth more than $36,000, at its three stores.

Giant declined to provide figures, but Hopkins says, "The majority of turkeys that go through our checkouts are part of the free program.'' Which begs the question: Does anyone actually buy a turkey these days? The answer seems to be worrying some turkey producers.

Butterball Turkeys, the nation's leading turkey brand, is running a television commercial on local stations that features a butcher holding up a free turkey, trying to give it away.

The shoppers, however, turn up their noses because it's not a Butterball turkey.

"Turkey giveaways seem like they're popular everywhere at this time of year,'' says Rebecca Offill, spokeswoman for the Chicago-area producer. "Really, the main goal of the commercial is to tout Butterball's premium quality.'' Despite their giveaways, supermarkets say they are still selling turkeys.

Only 25 percent of households in Giant's customer base participate in the free-turkey promotion, Hopkins says.

Some don't spend enough to qualify and so buy a turkey.

At Stauffers, many shoppers get a free turkey but also buy a turkey, says meat buyer John Gerlach.

And as beef prices rise, turkey has become a popular choice for shoppers at Thanksgiving and at other times, Ellsworth-Aults of Weis says.

"Turkeys right now are one of the best buys on the market,'' she says.

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