November is a month of charity for the Bainbridge Island Police Department this year.

Helpline House will be partnering up with the department for this Thanksgiving’s “Stuff the Turkey” event.

Food collection bins have been placed at the police department and city hall. Officers will also be staffing drives at Safeway and the Town & Country Market the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Police will be collecting and delivering food to the Helpline House all day on Nov. 22 and 23.

Last weekend the Helpline House received more than 4,000 pounds of food.

“That’s more or less understandable on Thanksgiving,” said Marilyn Gremse of the Helpline House.

“We distribute well over 80,000 pounds a month. It takes a huge coordinated effort from the community,” she said.

The drive will accept canned, dry or boxed goods. The Helpline House requests that frozen foods and semi-perishable foods be donated the weekend before Thanksgiving.

“It’s kind of an all-island effort to collect Thanksgiving foods,” Gremse said. “We are appreciative of folks like the police department to help us so that we are ready to share the community’s abundance in time for Thanksgiving.”

Thanksgiving food donations will be collected up until Tuesday, Nov. 26. The Helpline House will be open to distribute produce Monday and Tuesday by appointment. Those interested in dropping in for the food bank should register in advance.

For more information, visit www.helplinehouse.org.

Several Bainbridge officers will be joining the community in this year’s fourth annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day.

The event will benefit Helpline House and has raised more than $42,000 in its first three years.