Thanksgiving Is Devastated

It’s been a rough year for not only the people of this country but people around the world. With Covid-19 taking the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and causing worldwide economic damage, there are more people than ever that are going hungry. There are long lines of people waiting for hours at food banks that have never had “food insecurity” before in their lives.  

In addition, so many of the people who were just making it are now going hungry, many are one step from eviction or living in tents or out of their cars. Many of these are communities or color or minorities.

While the impact of the coronavirus has been felt by all of us, leaving us feeling isolated and not a little anxious, the impact on poorer communities and people living close to the edge has been devastating.

We have all become exhausted by dealing with the coronavirus, locked up at home, unable to spend time with our extended family and friends or haven’t been able to hug friends and family since the pandemic started. Gratitude might not be at the top of our to-do list. But, however bad it has been for us and it has been bad, we can still give to those who have lost what little they had.

For some, Thanksgiving isn’t going to happen at all. It’s heartbreaking to know that families are going to bed hungry, including many children. While it’s been one of the worst years we have ever experienced, just by chipping in a few dollars or maybe spending a few hours volunteering, we can improve the lives of our fellow Americans who have it so much worse than us.

Here are some ways that we can give to those who are in desperate need right now.

Donate or Volunteer Over Thanksgiving

Help to Provide Thanksgiving Meals to Military Families:

Giving Thanks to Heroes helps military families that are in need at this time of the year. It provides a complete Thanksgiving dinner to military families. It’s a great way to give back to those who gave so much for our country.

https://www.homefrontamerica.org/index.php/programs/thanksgiving/

Feed the Poor and Hungry

FeedAmerica.org is an organization dedicated to ending hunger in this country. As they put it on their website, “More families than ever are facing empty plates this holiday season.” Over 50 million people in the U.S. may face hunger in 2020 including more than 17 million children.

If each of us donates just a few dollars, we can ensure that everyone has a “full plate” at Thanksgiving.

https://www.feedingamerica.org/

They also organize foodbanks where you can donate money or food to help your local community. There are very few communities in the United States that don’t have long lines at food banks right now. Ensure that they have enough food to feed everyone. Give a few dollars. It may not seem like much but together we can make a huge difference.

Donate to a Local Food Bank

https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank

Volunteer over Thanksgiving

Meals on Wheels

We have all heard of Meals on Wheels. It delivers nutritious meals to seniors who are at risk for hunger. If you want a more tangible way of helping people in need this holiday, you can look into delivering meals to seniors.

https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/signup/find-programs

World Hunger

If you are looking at helping people worldwide, check out this list of charities that are helping to combat hunger around the world:

https://www.delish.com/food-news/a33927554/charities-that-fight-hunger/

It has been a record breaking bad year but it doesn’t have to break our empathy or our giving spirit. Helping those in need can lift us up and lift our spirits while ensuring that others in our communities have enough to eat.

Next year is going to be so much better. In the interim, let’s take care of each other the best that we can.