AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -

Chrysler Group, the Chrysler Foundation and the UAW all joined forces to make sure this week’s Thanksgiving holiday is better one for hungry people throughout the Midwest and the nation’s capital.

Late last week, a caravan of Chrysler vehicles filled with food donated by hundreds of employees departed the company’s headquarters for Lighthouse of Oakland County and Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan.

The caravan of vehicles was led by a 2012 Ram 1500 Special Service “Police” truck and escorted by the Auburn Hills Police Department and Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

In addition to the donated non-perishable goods — from canned vegetables, cranberry sauce and fruit to pumpkin pie filling, stuffing mix and potatoes — officials highlighted that 900 frozen turkeys were contributed to the food banks by the Chrysler Foundation.

Similar deliveries took place in Toledo, Ohio; Kokomo, Ind.; and Belvidere, Ill.; where Chrysler employees conducted food drives to benefit the Salvation Army and other local food banks.

In Washington, D.C., Chrysler and the Chrysler Foundation provided a grant to SOME (So Others Might Eat) in support of their efforts to feed senior citizens during the holiday.

Officials noted SOME is an interfaith, community-based organization that serves the homeless and destitute in the District of Columbia.

The OEM said the food drive is expected to feed more than 6,000 people in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Monroe counties in Michigan, nearly 2,000 people in Howard County Indiana, more than 1,800 people in northwest Ohio and more than 1,000 people in the Boone County area of Illinois.

It is estimated that a total of more than 12,000 people in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Washington, D.C. will be assisted by the Chrysler Group Thanksgiving food drive.

“Not so long ago when Chrysler needed critical support to get on the road to recovery, our communities stood behind us,” stated Jody Trapasso, president of the Chrysler Foundation.

“Our food drive is an opportunity to help those most in need and to show gratitude to our communities,” Trapasso added.