Buy a new car at Toyota of Puyallup before Dec. 17 and General Manager Kerry Bivens will donate a turkey dinner with all of the trimmings to a military member.

“Dressing, mashed potatoes, the infamous bean casserole, salad, rolls, pumpkin pie,” Bivens said. Enough to feed a family of four.

This idea for gobble goodness originated when retired Command Sgt. Maj. Herb Schmeling, who recently bought a new car, contacted Support America’s Armed Forces President Vicky Mohler.  For every vehicle purchased referred by Mohler, Bivens gives $100 to SAAF, which falls under the umbrella of the Pierce Military and Business Alliance.  When Mohler arrived to receive the donation, she mentioned her current poultry collection campaign, and Bivens offered her help.

“Toyota of Puyallup has continuously been there to provide support to our military and their families,” Mohler praised.

To date, since the Nov. 17 commencement, the car dealership pledged purchases for 100 family dinners, Christmas baskets packaged by Metropolitan Market in Federal Way.  New car owners may add their name to a card sent with the meals distributed with input from unit chaplains to Fort Lewis families.

Bivens also accepts donations at the dealership or by mail:.

“With your support, we can feed even more families at Fort Lewis who will be celebrating the Christmas holiday without their loved ones this year,” she wrote on her Web site — ToyotaofPuyallup.com.  Interested readers may also visit www.supportamericasarmedforces.com for information on Mohler’s programs to support troops.

SAAF does a lot of things, Mohler said of her six-year-old organization, but “I like to say Support America’s Armed Forces is ‘giving it forward, instead of ‘paying it forward,’ so it is coming from the heart.”