The Thurston County Food Bank faces a turkey shortage this week after nearly 4,000 families registered for a free Thanksgiving basket.

The food bank buys its turkeys in July to ensure there are enough to go around, but about 800 more families signed up this year than last year, executive director Robert Coit said.

“I’ve been scrambling to get more,” Coit said of the turkey supply. “It took us a little by surprise.”

Some families will get a large chicken instead of a turkey, but their baskets will still come fully stocked with a complete Thanksgiving meal of potatoes, apples, canned vegetables, stuffing mix, squash and ingredients for pumpkin pie along with a pie-crust recipe and instructions for cooking the turkey.

This week is the busiest time of year for the food bank. The cost for each Thanksgiving basket ranges from $30 to $45, depending on household size.

People began…