Brosnan Granger of Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays loads groceries during a mobile pantry food distribution. Photo by Lindsay Kappius

Thanksgiving is the one holiday all about food and sharing a meal together. People can help feed hope this season in several ways.

One is by dining out in area restaurants and breweries that give back to hunger-fighting agencies. The Common Market Oakwold selected Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina as its monthly charity for November to receive 10% of their sales from daily specials. Devil’s Logic Brewing, Legion Brewing SouthPark, and Green Brothers Juice Company are all holding drives for Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays through Thanksgiving. 

Loaves & Fishes distributes a turkey and fixings to every family and individual they serve through food pantries, home grocery deliveries, and Pop Up Food Shares. Since the beginning of 2021, the organization’s staff and volunteers have delivered groceries to the homes of more than 10,000 clients, about a third of whom are children and seniors. This already exceeds 2020’s total deliveries. Like most operations, the nonprofit world isn’t immune to the pandemic. “Due to supply chain issues, we are limited in the number of turkeys we can buy this year, and with rising food costs and higher heating and utility bills this winter, we are expecting an increase in those who need a hand up right now,” Sue Bruce of Loaves & Fishes says.

Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays prepared meals ready for home delivery. Photo courtesy of Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays

When shopping for your own family meal this year, consider purchasing an extra bird and dropping off directly to their warehouse as part of the agency’s turkey drive through November 20, located near Costco at 648 Griffith Rd., Suite B. Another turkey drop off will be November 24. In partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank, Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays will host the 19th annual Street Turkeys event at the WFNZ Jack Daniel’s Dog House at the corner of Mint and Morehead uptown from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Canned Thanksgiving foods (ex. sweet potatoes, corn, green beans), boxed goods like mashed potatoes and stuffing, frozen turkeys, and monetary donations are all needed.

“Folks can also help our efforts by holding their own food drives, requesting collection bins for their establishments, and volunteering to help as meal or grocery delivery drivers,” Bruce says. “Financial donations help us purchase fresh food items too.”

Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week runs through November 21, but food insecurity plagues our Charlotte neighbors year round — many of whom work but do not earn an adequate or stable wage. Some are experiencing crises or setbacks where they must choose between paying for housing, healthcare, and transportation expenses or food. Mecklenburg County Public Health reports that approximately 15 percent of residents “have a reduced quality and variety of diet, may eat less, and [have] eating patterns [that] are disrupted due to lack of money and resources.” A closer examination by Second Harvest Food Bank reveals some of the faces behind those numbers living at or below the poverty level: 7.7 percent of the older adult population and 16.4 percent of the child population.  

The need for food access — and healthier foods at that — remains great. 

Chasidie Glover, RD, LDN, MS serves as the Nutrition Services Coordinator for Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays. While appreciative of any and all food donations, her wish list includes more whole wheat pastas, brown rice, and low sodium/low fat canned chicken (in cans or pouches). “No one likes to donate healthy stuff because they think clients would hate it,” she says. “They prefer to donate food they think clients are more likely to eat, which is fair, but not as helpful towards improved health.” 

The nonprofit has made it part of their mission to not only feed Charlotte’s neighbors in need — but to feed them well. They are achieving this more and more each day with their unique mobile food pharmacies, in partnership with ONE Charlotte Health Alliance, Atrium Health, Novant Health, and Mecklenburg County Public Health Department. Glover has also implemented a specialty food box program for clients with health conditions like obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar (often occurring in connection with food insecurity). 

“Another way we have supported clients during the holidays is with a recipe-to-go box, full of ingredients to prepare a more nutritious meal,” Glover says. “Again, they notice the time and effort we put into providing this, and we have made it more convenient for them to create a better meal by giving them all the food and education they need to do so.”

Glover plans to distribute healthy recipe cards during the holiday season with the food boxes as she has done in the past. “These cards encourage clients to swap out some of the heavier, ‘consume rarely’ foods with healthier options. Our clients enjoy this, but they also learn from it.” 

Help further the mission of Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays this Thanksgiving with your time, talents, or resources.

Other avenues in need of help to fight hunger this holiday season:

Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina

St. Peter’s Soup Kitchen

Roof Above (merger of Urban Ministry Center and Men’s Shelter of Charlotte)

Charlotte Area Fund

Feeding Charlotte