These organizations are giving out meals for Thanksgiving. How do they prepare?

Three organizations that serve the Southern Nevada region are giving out meals to thousands of people for Thanksgiving. How are they preparing for the holiday?

Three Square, a food bank that serves the Southern Nevada region, has given 49 million pounds of food in the 2023 fiscal year.

There are 341,000 food-insecure people in Southern Nevada that Three Square serves, said Maurice Johnson, director of food sourcing & relationships at Three Square.

“Food insecurity means that a person doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from,” Johnson said, “To kind of put that in perspective, that’s one in seven adults and one in five children.”

Catholic Charities is preparing to feed 700 people, according to Leslie Carmine, director of media and community relations. They’ve been planning meal distributions for Thanksgiving since February, Carmine said.

Salvation Army is anticipating serving 1,200 families for Thanksgiving, said Major Harold Laubach Jr., divisional secretary for Clark County, Nevada.

“At our the homeless campus on Owens, we provide Thanksgiving dinner for for everyone that comes into that building.” Laubach Jr. said.

3,000 turkeys and more

Catholic Charities has collected 3,000 turkeys, 300 pounds of garlic mashed potatoes, 300 pounds of cornbread stuffing and 300 pounds of green bean casserole.

Along with 3,000 turkeys, they have prepared 20 gallons of turkey gravy, 20 gallons of cranberry sauce, 60 gallons of hot cocoa and 700 slices of pumpkin pie.

“For those that are visiting our food pantry, hopefully we’re able to give them enough items so they’re able to make their own Thanksgiving meal at home,” Carmine said.

Catholic Charities makes use of large freezers to keep all this food, said Carmine. However, if they run out of freezer space, they use cash donations to buy food in bulk or at discounted prices.

Both food donations like canned food or dry goods as well as cash donations are useful to these organizations.

“If it’s a monetary donation, that’s where we can kind of stretch that a little bit, because we’d be able to buy more than someone going to just the regular grocery store and purchasing,” Laubach Jr. said.

Salvation Army also gives bus vouchers for individuals to travel and see their families over the Thanksgiving weekend, said Laubach Jr.

More seniors over the past years

Organizations have seen an uptick in food-insecure seniors using services in past years.

“We have a growing number of senior citizens that are our clients now in all of our programs,” Laubach Jr. said.

“You don’t have to go very far when it comes to the increase in food prices recently. So, with increases in food prices, increases in housing costs and rent and all those different things, people just need assistance,” said Laubach Jr.

Last week, Catholic Charities dropped off Thanksgiving frozen meals to 2,450 home-bound seniors.

“We try to go all out and ensure that everyone can enjoy a happy Thanksgiving,” said Carmine.

“Most of the families are very, very appreciative and very grateful to have what it takes to put a Thanksgiving meal on the table, since everything has become really challenging and more expensive,” Carmine said.

From Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, Three Square is running a holiday match program, where every dollar donated to Three Square is matched by one of their donors. Money generated from the program helps plan for next year’s Thanksgiving drive, Johnson said.

Contact Annie Vong at avong@reviewjournal.com. Follow @annievwrites on X.