Since 2022 the Food Bank of Northern Indiana has been supplementing a Thanksgiving turkey for those in need through an event called Turkeys on the Table. They host a phone-a-thon, asking community members to donate $15 for the cost of the Turkey.

Last year they donated around five thousand turkeys according to the Food Bank Director, Marijo Martinec. This year though they donated seventy five hundred. They had 29 different giveaways at 29 various locations across northern Indiana. This comes out to 260 turkeys given away per giveaway.

Turkey is the most expensive part of a dinner, accounting for 43% of the cost which is $61.17 for 10 people, the second most expensive year in 38 years according to the American Farm Bureau.

While the overall cost seems to have risen 25% since the pandemic, it has actually dropped since last year, the American Farm Bureau says that this is because of a “decrease in avian influenza cases and the resulting recovery in the turkey flock.”

What is interesting though is that the price of turkey actually drops at Thanksgiving when the demand for it peaks says NPR.

So while the cost is going down, it is not going down enough to necessarily make Thanksgiving affordable for those facing hunger. Consider that nearly 34 million people faced hunger in 2021, averaging 1 in 7 adults. Also in 2021 these costs were lower, the average cost for a dinner being $53.31, meaning that it is even harder now to provide. 

Another thing that the 34 million does not account for is the children. Most times children are lucky enough to at least get one meal at school, but what about the big meal of Thanksgiving?

Martinec says that the “need for food assistance remains really high”, and during a holiday that’s all about devouring food, keeping up with the demand is difficult.

This demand is held afloat by volunteers, Lori, a Food Bank volunteer of 4 years, says that she was drawn to the organization because of their kids backpack program that has been in place since 2006. It provides meals for K-6 students over weekends and holiday breaks during the school year since most students rely on school for their only nutritious meal.

Lori eventually moved the pantry because she wanted to see the people that the programs affect. She looks forward to their presence “and they look forward to seeing me and it’s just like family.”

Thanksgiving isn’t just about the food, it is also centered around spending time with family and loved ones. The relationships she has formed with community members is why Lori has volunteered for so long, along with the people who “come back,” the information you get to know about them, “what’s going on in their lives” and “the tears and the how thankful they are when they receive the food.”

Helping people who may not feel like family to you yet is easy though, donating to the Food Bank of Northern Indiana is easy, and it goes a long way. Whether it be your time, your money, holding a food drive, or visiting the website for more information. A $1 donation provides almost 3 meals and 94 cents of every dollar donated goes back into the community to support programming.