For years, we have debated which bird is best for our Thanksgiving table.

Fresh? Frozen? Or free?

Acme Markets has entered the debate with a delectable promotion: a free Shady Brook Farms Grade A Basted Frozen Turkey (average weight 10-22 pounds) when you spend $100 in a single transaction. Shoppers also can opt for a Pride of the Farm frozen turkey breast, topping out at about seven pounds.

We expect more requests for Free Bird than at a Lynyrd Skynyrd review.

So why give away turkeys to patrons who likely can afford to buy a bird? Let’s talk turkey.

First and foremost, the turkey hunt gives shoppers a reason to choose one grocer over another at a time of year when consumers are laying in provisions at a rate rivaled only by the Blizzard of the Century and the Zombie Apocalypse. Gobble, gobble.

We aren’t just buying a turkey. We are baking cookies and pies. We are hosting parties. And we are buying food to give to other people so that they can enjoy a sliver of the abundance the more fortunate among us take for granted.

So, do you like Acme’s strategy of a quick reward to shoppers who part with a single Ben Franklin? Or do you prefer the game plan of ShopRite and other grocers, who don’t part with the turkey until shoppers have rung up $400 between now and Turkey Day? Or are you simply grateful to have a choice between great deals?