While many people love Thanksgiving because of the food, it’s also a time when many people turn to volunteering to make sure others enjoy a tasty meal and have some company. Organizations throughout the Austin area are hosting dinners and offering hot meals for delivery leading up to and on Thanksgiving day. A lot of these operations are looking for people to donate or volunteer to help cook, clean and serve meals.
Here’s a round up of volunteer opportunities and places offering meals to those in need.
Sunday
Great Thanksgiving Banquet
Mission Possible Austin will host its annual Thanksgiving banquet for Austin’s homeless population at 10 a.m. the Sunday before Thanksgiving at Church Under the Bridge. The event centers on food and friendship, with hot meals and opportunities to gather with others in what can be a lonely time of year.
The organization is looking for volunteers to set up, serve food, clean up and chat with people receiving meals. You can sign up to volunteer or donate money to help provide meals..
Tuesday
H-E-B’s Feast of Sharing
H-E-B and United Way for Greater Austin will host the annual Feast of Sharing across Texas and Mexico. This is the 35th time the event been held in Austin. This year it will be at the Palmer Events Center from 4 to 8 p.m., and will feature free food and music. The event is part of H-E-B’s Hunger Relief Program which aims to prevent hunger and is open to the public.
You can sign up for one of two volunteer shift to distribute meals. The first shift goes from 3 to 6:30 p.m., and the second shift goes from 6 to 9 p.m.
Thursday
Operation Turkey
You can get a free meal delivered to your house on Thanksgiving day with traditional foods, including turkey, stuffing and vegetables. Operation Turkey delivers to multiple local cities, including Austin, Bastrop, San Marcos and Round Rock. The form to sign up to receive food has closed in multiple cities, including Austin, but Elgin, Manor, San Marcos, Bude and Kyle all have open slots at the time of publication. The full form will close on Friday or when it reaches capacity.
If you want to volunteer, you can sign up on the website to cook, clean, plate and deliver meals.
Mt. Olive Celebration in Feeding
Thanksgiving is the only acceptable day you can eat turkey for breakfast, and the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Austin will host a “Dinner with all the fixins’” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day in Sneed Hall. The church will host the dinner at its main location on 1800 E. 11th St. and its second location at 1113 Leona St. The church will serve turkey, green beans, rolls and other Thanksgiving foods.
Volunteers will package the food or deliver it to people’s homes. The church is also accepting pre-cooked turkeys next week. To sign up or get more information, call 512-472-4332. The event is open to anyone.
Mobile Loaves & Fishes Thanksgiving Meal
Mobile Loaves and Fishes will deliver homemade meals to neighbors in need on Thanksgiving morning from 12 to 1 p.m..
Volunteers can bake pies and drop them off at St. Thomas More Parish Activity Center on Tuesday and Wednesday, or they can help package and deliver the meals on Thanksgiving morning at the activity center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.. The organization will also sell roasted turkeys for $99 on Wednesday from 1 to 5 p.m. and proceeds will provide Thanksgiving meals for those in need.
Annie’s Way Thanksgiving Dinner
Saint Williams Catholic Church in Round Rock will host a Thanksgiving meal continuing Annie Pavlicek’s tradition of setting out three plates of food for people who need it. The gathering is for “those who are in need, do not have family nearby or simply want to join in a large gathering on this special holiday—everyone is invited.” The event will start at 11:30 a.m. with 20 minutes of blessings and prayers and end at 1:30 p.m. The church will also offer Thanksgiving plates for pick up from 8:30 to 11 a.m. in the Pavilion located on the Saint William parish ground.
Volunteers can drop off food on Thanksgiving and the day before. Volunteers start setting up at 7 a.m., but the church offers multiple shifts during the day. Visit the church’s website for more information and to sign up.
