how to donate for thanksgiving

by Tamara Gibson 9 min read

where to donate for thanksgiving

  • Try donating Thanksgiving leftovers to your local food pantry.
  • Call your local food bank to see what their policies are about donating food and whether they accept leftovers or only canned items.
  • Homeless shelters, housing shelters, and non-profit charities accept food donations.

The first step to donating a Thanksgiving meal to a family facing hunger is finding your local food bank. The Feeding America network includes 200 food banks throughout the United States that work with food pantries and soup kitchens to reach communities.Nov 23, 2021

Full Answer

How can we help poor people at Thanksgiving?

Where And How To Volunteer This Thanksgiving—No Matter Where You LiveWork with Meals on Wheels. ... Offer to go grocery shopping. ... Volunteer at or donate to a food bank. ... Help out at a soup kitchen. ... Find or start a clothing drive. ... Adopt a family. ... Make a monetary donation. ... Keep an eye out in your own community.

What do you put in a Thanksgiving donation box?

When creating your basket, consider adding the following items:A box of mashed potatoes.A box of stuffing with gravy packets.One can of corn, yams, cranberries, and green beans.A pumpkin or apple pie.Bags of tea or apple cider packets.A carton of shelf-stable almond, rice, or soy milk.Canned soups.More items...•

What can you contribute to Thanksgiving dinner?

Be a gracious guest and show up with something thoughtful or — in the spirit of the holiday — something edible!#1 An appetizer, side dish, or dessert. ... #2 Wine, whiskey, champagne, cider, or [insert your favorite drink]. ... #3 Flowers or centerpieces. ... #4 An edible treat for the next morning.More items...•

Who is giving away turkeys for Thanksgiving?

How to Get a Free Turkey This YearAcme Markets. Acme is giving away free turkeys when you clip the free turkey coupon in the Acme for U app. ... Foodtown. ... Giant. ... Hy-Vee. ... ShopRite. ... Weis Market. ... BJ's Wholesale Club. ... Fareway.More items...•

What's in a Thanksgiving basket?

Thanksgiving food basket list:Canned ham or cooked ham.Canned green beans.Can french onion soup.Crispy onion toppers.Canned yams.Instant potatoes.Bag of marshmallows.Canned corn.More items...•

How do you make a Thanksgiving basket?

0:261:55How to Make a Thanksgiving Gratitude Basket - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd just kind of wrap it around here. Like. So when you want to display your basket. You can justMoreAnd just kind of wrap it around here. Like. So when you want to display your basket. You can just put it as a centerpiece.

What are the Top 5 Thanksgiving dishes?

Top 5 Thanksgiving foods, rankedStuffing. Stuffing/Shutterstock.Mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes/Shutterstock. ... Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie/Shutterstock. ... Homemade cranberry sauce. Cranberry sauce/Shutterstock. ... Turkey. Roast turkey/Shutterstock. ...

What should I ask people to bring for Thanksgiving?

5 Dishes You Should Ask Someone to Bring for ThanksgivingDressing (even if you call it stuffing) ... Sweet Potato Casserole. ... Cranberry Sauce. ... Slaw. ... Desserts.

How can I be a great Thanksgiving guest?

Here are 10 ways to be a great guest.RSVP in a timely manner and ask what to bring. ... Don't forget the wine! ... Even better: ask what wine to bring. ... Bring everything you need to serve the dish you're contributing. ... If you require fridge or oven space, ask your host in advance.More items...•

Where is there a free Thanksgiving dinner?

Food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, and faith groups offer free Thanksgiving meals. Support is available for anyone who needs help putting food on the table during the holidays.

Do turkeys go on sale after Thanksgiving?

November is one of the best times of year to buy turkey on sale. You should easily find whole, frozen birds for less than $1 per pound, and some grocery stores will even offer a free turkey with purchases over a certain dollar amount, or when you buy your Christmas ham along with it.

Is WinCo doing free turkeys 2021?

Today we have some information to share about the WinCo free turkey deal for 2021. Starting Saturday, November 13, you can get a free turkey with a $100 purchase through Thanksgiving! This is a Jennie-O Grade A frozen turkey.

What is non perishable food for Thanksgiving?

Basics:Boxed stuffing mix (like Stovetop)Instant mashed potatoes in boxes or packets.Jars of turkey gravy or dried gravy mix packets.Dry macaroni.Canned yams (just make sure any canned goods come with a pop-top lid or can opener)Canned cranberry sauce.Canned veggies (green beans, corn, peas)Cornbread mix.More items...•

What should I put in my food drive bag?

WHAT TO GIVE: Most-wanted foods include:Canned meats (tuna, chicken, salmon).Canned and boxed meals (soup, chili, stew, macaroni and cheese).Canned or dried beans and peas (black, pinto, lentils).Pasta, rice cereal.Canned fruits.100 percent fruit juice (canned, plastic or boxed).Canned vegetables.Cooking oil.More items...•

Where to donate food for Thanksgiving

The first step to donating a Thanksgiving meal to a family facing hunger is finding your local food bank. The Feeding America network includes 200 food banks throughout the United States that work with food pantries and soup kitchens to reach communities.

The items food banks want most during Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of the business times of the year for food banks. Healthy, non-perishable food is always great to donate to a food bank but is in even higher demand around the holidays. While you’re grocery shopping or collecting for your Thanksgiving food drive, look for items such as:

What to avoid donating for Thanksgiving

Because food banks need to maintain high safety standards, you should not plan to donate a Thanksgiving turkey or donate leftovers from your holiday meal to food banks.

How to do even more to give back this holiday season

Still feeling inspired to continue helping families? Here is how you can continue to make an impact in your community during Thanksgiving. • Join our virtual Thanksgiving food drive • Volunteer at a food bank • Become a monthly donor

There With Care

There With Care is a Colorado-based organization that facilitates holiday meals for families of children in the hospital. It's a sweet way to make sure families can still experience the holiday tradition of a traditional turkey dinner while remaining close to the hospital.

Operation Turkey

A network of 30,000 volunteers makes sure everyone has a turkey on their table for Thanksgiving, regardless of their financial situation. This year, their goal is to provide 45,000 meals to families across the country, and are accepting donations as well as new volunteers.

Harvesters

As a certified member of Feeding America, Harvesters provides food and supplies to families in the Kansas City metro area year-round, but they're currently packing and delivering holiday boxes for the upcoming season. Make a one-time donation or host your own virtual food drive using the links on their website.

Feed the Need

This central Texas-based organization is working to provide Gobble Kits for local families who don't have the funds for a Thanksgiving meal this season. They're currently accepting $25 donations online, which funds a box of food for a family of six.

Soldiers' Angels

Donate a Thanksgiving meal to a veteran and their families through Soldiers' Angels. They host monthly food distributions for low-income, at-risk, and homeless veterans in Atlanta, Charleston, Denver, Detroit, Orlando, and San Antonio year-round, and the November distribution helps provide a Thanksgiving meal.

3 Key Principles of Thanksgiving Fundraising

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to connect with existing donors. Mobilize volunteers to write ‘thank you’ emails (or handwritten ‘thank you’ cards for an added touch, especially if your organization is smaller). If your nonprofit organization is bigger, consider organizing a Thanksgiving dinner.

14 Thanksgiving Fundraising Ideas in 2021

Having discussed the principles of thanksgiving fundraising, it’s time that we dive into the fundraising ideas. But before that, we’d like to share with you the Donorbox video that talks turkey about thanksgiving fundraising! It’s a fun and quick way to know a bit about fundraising during this season and some great events to raise money from.

Conclusion

The end of the year is around the corner—the single biggest fundraising opportunity of the year!

Volunteer

Thanksgiving is a busy time for food banks and food pantries. Giving just a few hours of your time helps bring more meals to our neighbors.

Donate food

Help ease holiday anxiety for families facing hunger by donating a Thanksgiving meal. Follow our guide for donating food this Thanksgiving.

Host a virtual food drive

A virtual Thanksgiving food drive is a great way to support the Feeding America network.

Send holiday wishes

Offer a warm Thanksgiving greeting to a family receiving food at a food bank and make their holiday a little brighter.

Write a thank you note or send a care package to a soldier

If you know someone (or know someone who knows someone) in the military, you can send a letter or care package directly to them wherever they're stationed.

Say thank you to veterans

Don't just give thanks to troops on active duty — veterans who have served in the past also deserve gratitude.

Donate non-perishable leftovers to a food bank

If you overestimated how many cans of cranberry sauce people would eat, donate them to a local food bank.

Deliver food to a homebound senior through Meals on Wheels

Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver fresh, hot meals to homebound seniors. The entire delivery process is fast enough to be completed over a lunch break, so you can provide someone with their holiday meal while leaving plenty of time to enjoy your own.

Volunteer at a soup kitchen

Volunteering at a soup kitchen can involve everything from food prep to serving to washing dishes — things you'd be doing on Thanksgiving anyway, with the added bonus of helping those in need.

Sponsor a family in need

Through Family-to-Family, you can sponsor a monthly box of groceries for elderly Holocaust survivors, refugees, and families living below the poverty line to keep them covered beyond Turkey Day.

Host refugees at your Thanksgiving meal

You can host refugees through Airbnb's Open Homes project — why not host them at your Thanksgiving meal, too?

Money

Of course, giving canned goods or food items isn't the only way you can give back. You can always donate directly to your local food bank, so they are able to use the funds toward buying food more inexpensively in bulk.

Canned Fish & Meat

Canned fish and meat are great donation options because they're high in protein and can last for years before expiring. Look for items that have low sodium, like canned tuna or chicken.

Canned Foods With Pop-Top Lids

If you're getting canned food, whether it's veggies or tomato sauce or meat, try to find the cans with lids that just pop off. That way, it's as easy as possible for people to access the food without any extra tools like a can opener.

Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is a great donation item, since it's high in protein and healthy fats, and also has a long shelf life. Similarly with canned meats, you should try to find peanut butter without many added ingredients or unnecessary sugar.

Spices

It might not be the first thing you think of, but donating a collection of spices (all unopened, obviously) is a great way to give back to your local food bank. Possibilities include cinnamon, chili powder, cumin, and other salt-free spice blends — all of these spices will be able to add flavor to pretty much any meal that a family wants to make.

Unsalted Nuts & Dried Fruits

Unsalted nuts and seeds, like almond or pumpkin seeds, are a great donation option because they can be easily added to a recipe and are high in protein. Nuts and granola bars are some of the food items in highest demand at food banks, Villarreal says.

Shelf-Stable Milk

Instead of fresh dairy, donate shelf-stable milk, i.e. milk that can be stored in room temperature conditions without expiring for years. Shelf-stable milk can be labeled ultra-high temperature pasteurized, or UHT, which means it can be stored safely without refrigeration.

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