Site icon The Boca Raton Tribune

Greater Need for Food This Thanksgiving Than Ever Before

Boca Helping Hands Needs Help Providing More Thanksgiving Dinners Than Ever Before

Boca Raton, FL – Boca Helping Hands is seeking help from the community for its 17th annual Thanksgiving Box Brigade program, which provides turkeys and a box filled with everything a family needs to prepare a holiday meal. Members of the community can fill a box with Thanksgiving dinner essentials. Alternatively, the cost of a box this year is $27.15, which can be donated at BocaHelpingHands.org/Thanksgiving. All filled boxes must be received at Boca Helping Hands by Monday, November 15.

Prior to the pandemic, Boca Helping Hands typically distributed about 2,000 turkeys and Thanksgiving meal boxes each year. In 2020, BHH expanded to four locations and distributed a record 2,700 turkeys to local families, including to many new families who registered for food assistance due to COVID-19. This year, the organization estimates needing to source 3,000 turkeys and Thanksgiving meal boxes with the addition of a fifth location in Delray Beach.

Boca Helping Hands will have empty boxes available, which can be reserved now for pick-up starting the first week of October. Each 10”x10”x 10” box must contain:

• 6 oz. Stove Top Stuffing Mix (1)
• 10.5 oz. Canned Gravy (1, no glass)
• 1.56 oz. Powdered Drink Mix (1)
• 15 oz. Canned Vegetables (4)
• 15 oz. Canned Fruit or Fruit Cocktail (2)
• 4 oz. Instant Mashed Potatoes Mix (2)
• 29 oz. Canned Yams (1)
• 14 oz. Cranberry Sauce (1)
• 21 oz. Canned Pie Filling (1)
• 9” Ready-made Graham Cracker Pie Crust (1, non-perishable)

“We are so grateful to the community each year for their food drives and Thanksgiving box donations,” said Executive Director Greg Hazle. “Their generosity means that people who would not otherwise be able to sit down for a holiday meal can enjoy one with their family.”

Long-time supporter ADT will be providing volunteers at the main East Boca location, as well as financial support for the 2021 Box Brigade. “At ADT, we are a purpose-driven company that believes in serving our communities,” said Bob Tucker, Director of Corporate Affairs at ADT. “We are pleased to partner with Boca Helping Hands to ensure local families will have a happy Thanksgiving this year.” Other Thanksgiving Box Brigade sponsors include AvalonBay Communities, Office Depot and SouthState Bank.

Boca Helping Hands will distribute the turkeys and Thanksgiving meal boxes to current Pantry Bag Program clients the weekend before Thanksgiving (Nov. 20 and 21) at five of its drive-thru distribution locations.

To participate, current clients must register between October 1 and October 31 at one of five Boca Helping Hands pantry bag distribution locations. Hours and addresses can be found here, https://bocahelpinghands.org/tbbregistration.

To reserve empty boxes to fill with Thanksgiving dinner essentials or donate the cost of a box, please visit https://bocahelpinghands.org/thanksgiving.

To learn more about Thanksgiving sponsorship opportunities, contact Steve King, Director of Development, at steve@bocahelpinghands.org.

About Boca Helping Hands

Boca Helping Hands (BHH) is a community-based nonprofit that provides food, medical and financial assistance to meet basic human needs as well as education, job training and guidance to create self-sufficiency. Through its various programs, BHH assists over 27,000 people annually.

BHH distributes more than 80,000 pantry bags each year at five Palm Beach County locations and serves over 90,000 hot meals annually, six days per week. The organization expands access to affordable medical, dental and behavioral care through its partnerships with Genesis Community Health (serving clients at clinics in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach) and Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing Community Based Clinics (serving residents in West Palm Beach). In addition, BHH sends weekend meals home with food-insecure elementary school students via the BHH Backpacks Program and assists working families with the rising cost of childcare through the Children’s Assistance Program (CAP).

With an increased focus on client self-sufficiency, BHH awards scholarships for qualified candidates to attend accredited vocational training classes that prepare them for careers in the healthcare, information technology, construction, and transportation industries. BHH also offers free English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes, courses in nutrition, and other life skills. In addition, staff and volunteer mentors counsel the unemployed and underemployed in basic workplace skills and help them polish resumes and search for jobs.

Boca Helping Hands is a partner agency of The Town of Palm Beach United Way. Since 1945, the Town of Palm Beach United Way has been committed to improving lives and building strong communities throughout Palm Beach County by focusing on programs and priorities that promote education, health, and financial stability.

Charity Navigator named Boca Helping Hands a Four-Star Charity for the 15th consecutive year in June 2021. Boca Helping Hands is located at 1500 NW 1st Court, Boca Raton, FL 33432. For more information, please visit BocaHelpingHands.org.

Exit mobile version