Boca Helping Hands is calling on the community to help distribute Thanksgiving meals to 4,000 families through its 21st annual Thanksgiving Box Brigade program. Each box, priced at $29.72, includes a turkey and all the fixings for a holiday meal, serving approximately 24,000 people. Donations can be made at bocahelpinghands.org/thanksgiving.
The need is urgent: one in nine people in Palm Beach County face food insecurity, a crisis worsened by rising food costs, housing expenses, and stagnant wages. According to the 2024 ALICE Report for Florida, 46% of Palm Beach County households struggle to make ends meet, with 12% living below the Federal Poverty Level and 35% earning above it but unable to afford a basic budget.
“We recognize the difficulties many families are experiencing, and my wife, Anita and I are proud to once again support the Thanksgiving Box Brigade this year,” said east Boca Raton sponsor Bob Kriensky. Other sponsors include Overall Sponsor Dalfen Industrial; West Boca Sponsor Humana; Boynton Beach Sponsor Purity Wholesale Grocers Inc.; Delray Beach Sponsor Vertical Bridge Charitable Network; and Lake Worth Sponsor Avalon Bay Communities.
Boca Helping Hands will distribute the turkeys and meal boxes on Nov. 22 and 23 at five drive-thru locations in east Boca Raton, west Boca, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and Lake Worth. “We are deeply appreciative of the way that the community helps each year with their food drives and Thanksgiving box donations,” said Executive Director Andrew Hagen. “Thanks to them, families who might not have had enough money to afford to celebrate can now share a holiday meal together.”
While the Thanksgiving program has seen strong support, food insecurity remains a year-round challenge, especially with reductions in funding for food. Any donations exceeding Thanksgiving costs will support the organization’s ongoing food programs, which assist 181,000 families in Palm Beach County. Since 1998, Boca Helping Hands has grown from a soup kitchen to serving nearly 35,000 people annually, providing hot meals, pantry bags, weekend backpacks for students, emergency assistance, and job training. The organization is a partner of the Town of Palm Beach United Way and holds accreditations from Nonprofits First, Candid/GuideStar, and Charity Navigator.
