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Arlington Food Assistance Center is distributing 5,000 chickens for Thanksgiving week after the price of traditional turkeys threatened to push its holiday food bill to $165,000.

Families carrying bags and rolling carts lined up down the block for their weekly supplemental groceries. Holiday offerings included sweet potatoes, green beans, pumpkin and cranberry sauce.

AFAC CEO Charles Meng said the center chose chickens in part because many clients prefer them. Turkeys weighing 12 to 24 pounds would have cost $2.39 per pound, while the chicken order totaled $75,000.

The selection was also expanded by the Scouting for Food Drive, which collected 32 tons of donations during the weekend of Nov. 8. Meng said the haul included culturally significant foods such as seaweed and enchilada sauce. AFAC supplements donated goods by purchasing higher-cost items.

Inside the warehouse, assistant Alcy Montalto moved crates of bread and rolls as Assistant Director of Operations Tyee Speight assembled emergency kits containing nonperishable food. The kits are intended for people in need who lack the Department of Human Services referral required for regular weekly groceries.

Employees from AFAC sponsor Hyundai also bagged beans between meetings at a regional conference. The volunteers came from North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Baltimore as part of the company’s community-service work.

AFAC served 4,315 families the previous week, a figure Meng described as very high. The center expected demand to increase during the holidays and remain elevated following the recent government shutdown and interruption of SNAP benefits.