A local Juneau nonprofit is seeing a 20% rise in the number of people requesting Thanksgiving food baskets this year. And there’s still time to request one.
Juneau’s chapter of St. Vincent de Paul is delivering the baskets this Saturday to anyone who applies, with the help of 60 volunteers.
Executive Director Jennifer Skinner said the application is simple and people can expect the makings for a full holiday meal.
“And then we give you the works, the quintessential Thanksgiving meal,” she said. “You get a turkey or turkey breast, depending on the size of your family. You get yams, you get a can – canned goods that are like the corn and the green beans – and stuffing and gravy and pie.”
People can apply through the end of Friday on the St. Vincent de Paul website, or by calling or visiting St. Vincent’s offices in the Mendenhall Valley during the day.
At the beginning of November, people who receive food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also called SNAP or food stamps, didn’t get their benefits on time. After partial payments and further delays, the state says that all SNAP beneficiaries in Alaska have now received their full payments.
But the chaos led to long lines at local food banks and a scramble as organizations stepped in to help. And food insecurity was rising in Juneau before the SNAP delays, too.
Skinner said nearly 500 people have already applied for a Thanksgiving meal basket. That’s a 20% increase from last year. But she says the nonprofit is preparing to meet that demand.
“We won’t say no, right?” she said. “Our mission is we’re here to help everyone, right? So we will serve everyone the best we can.”
Skinner said they have enough volunteers helping with Saturday’s distribution, but St. Vincent’s is still accepting food and monetary donations, as well as holiday cheer: Skinner herself will be dressed as a turkey at Saturday’s distribution.
On Thanksgiving Day, Resurrection Lutheran Church and the Salvation Army are both hosting Thanksgiving meals.
Resurrection’s Karen Lawfer said the downtown church will be serving dinner from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and anyone who wants a meal, or some togetherness on the holiday, is welcome.
“They can come and have a meal and be with friends, meet new friends, and just be able to be a part of a community,” she said.
Lawfer said that the community element is often just as important as the food itself, especially on holidays when people may be far away or disconnected from loved ones. Resurrection is still seeking volunteers to help with the meal.
The Salvation Army will be serving food from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, at the Juneau Yacht Club. Anyone who needs a ride can get one from their thrift store downtown.
For other food assistance, the Southeast Alaska Food Bank is having a limited distribution the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas, since both holidays fall on their normal distribution day.
After Thanksgiving, efforts for Christmas will be in full effect, too. Both the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul have programs to help put gifts under trees for kids who may not get them otherwise, and there will be food distributions and community meals then, too.
