Boca Helping Hands Needs Help Feeding More Families Than Ever Before for Thanksgiving
– Boca Helping Hands is seeking help from the community to distribute meals to families for Thanksgiving and through the holiday season. Its 18th annual Thanksgiving Box Brigade program, which provides a turkey and a box filled with everything a family needs to prepare a holiday meal, is projected to feed over 3,200 families this year. Community members can get involved by donating the cost of a box for $31.48 at BocaHelpingHands.org/Thanksgiving.
Prior to the pandemic, Boca Helping Hands typically distributed about 2,000 turkeys and Thanksgiving meal boxes to local families each year, increasing that to a record 2,958 turkeys and boxes last November. With food prices rising 11.4% higher over the past year – the largest annual increase since May 1979 – it’s now costing even more to feed families at the same time that so many are looking for relief.
“We know some families are really struggling right now, and Dalfen Industrial is proud to support a program that eases some of their burden around the Holidays,” said Murray Dalfen, Chairman of Dalfen Industrial, a Thanksgiving Box Brigade supporter. Other Box Brigade supporters include Falcone Group, NDM Hospitality, Robert & Anita Kriensky, Verizon, Vertical Bridge, and Phoenix Tower International.
Boca Helping Hands will distribute the turkeys and Thanksgiving meal boxes to current Pantry Bag Program clients the weekend before Thanksgiving (Nov. 19 and 20) at its five drive-thru distribution locations in east Boca Raton, west Boca, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and Lake Worth.
“We are so grateful to the community each year for their food drives and Thanksgiving box donations,” said BHH 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.”
Although there has been tremendous community support for the Thanksgiving Box Brigade program, food insecurity remains a problem year-round – especially now with inflation stretching families’ budgets even thinner. Boca Helping Hands is currently having to purchase more food than ever before to supplement its food recovery efforts. BHH recently surpassed 8,000 pantry bags distributed in a month for the first time in its history; the organization was averaging 6,100 bags per month during the height of the pandemic. As consumer food prices and housing costs remain higher than usual, BHH expects that more families will need to utilize their pantry bags of groceries and hot meal program to help make ends meet.
To help, please visit BocaHelpingHands.org/Thanksgiving and donate the cost of a Thanksgiving box ($31.48). Any contributions that exceed Thanksgiving expenses will be used to provide food throughout the year, helping to support the 181,000 families in Palm Beach County facing food insecurity.
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.
In 2021, BHH distributed more than 70,000 pantry bags from five Palm Beach County locations and served nearly 80,000 hot meals. 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.
Boca Helping Hands holds accreditation for Sound Nonprofit Management from Nonprofits First, has a 2022 Gold Seal of Transparency from Candid/GuideStar, and was named a Four-Star Charity by Charity Navigator for the 15th consecutive year in 2021. Boca Helping Hands is located at 1500 NW 1st Court, Boca Raton, FL 33432. For more information, please visit BocaHelpingHands.org.
