With Thanksgiving less than three weeks away, Juneau, Alaska, is gathering turkeys, canned goods and volunteers for a holiday that local charities expect to be busy again. St. Vincent de Paul Juneau is collecting groceries and recruiting helpers for its annual Thanksgiving basket drive, while food providers across the city continue to struggle to keep up with demand, the Juneau Empire reported on Saturday, 7 November.

Last year, more than 540 Juneau households signed up for a Thanksgiving basket, a record for the program. Executive Director Jennifer Skinner said the organization had never before reached 500 households. This year, volunteers plan to assemble baskets from 17 to 19 November and deliver them across the city on Saturday, 21 November, ahead of the holiday on 26 November.

A record year, and need that has not eased

Requests in 2025 had already climbed about 20 percent from the year before by mid-November, at a time when a federal government shutdown disrupted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and left some families without their expected grocery help. In the end, more than 150 volunteers delivered 521 baskets, up from 356 the year before, the Juneau Empire reported at the time.

"To be able to provide a meal for a family to sit down together and make memories, it creates joy and hope for people who don't always get that privilege," Skinner told the paper last year.

This year's donation list includes boxed stuffing, canned vegetables and cranberry sauce, and the charity also needs turkeys, pies and butter. Collection boxes are available at participating churches.

Feeding the line, and shortening it

The pressure reaches well beyond one holiday. The Southeast Alaska Food Bank serves about 500 people a week at its public pantry, and demand has stayed high even in months that are usually quieter. In an October opinion piece, Executive Director Dan Parks wrote that the food bank was serving roughly twice as many people as when he started there in 2024. He describes the work as "feeding the line and shortening the line": supplying groceries today while pushing for longer-term improvements in food access.

The food bank reports distributing about 500,000 pounds of food a year through its regional network. Speaking to KTOO in July, Parks said it supplies about 40 member agencies, and its weekly public pantry is open to anybody, "no questions asked."

One of those partners, the Glory Hall shelter, serves about 60,000 meals a year. Its 55 shelter beds have been full every night for the past two years, Jordan Nigro of the Zach Gordon Youth Center said at the shelter's Empty Bowls fundraiser on 1 November.

Neighbors stepping in

Community groups are pitching in too. The Juneau Central Labor Council planned a weekend collection outside a local grocery store to support St. Vincent de Paul's Thanksgiving program, the Southeast Alaska Food Bank, the Glory Hall and other local groups.

Why it matters

When grocery costs strain family budgets, a holiday meal can slip out of reach. Juneau's food drives show how neighbors, churches and small charities can close part of that gap, and how much steady, year-round support matters once the holiday has passed.

Learn more

• Juneau Empire: Juneau food drives gear up as Thanksgiving demand keeps climbing
• Juneau Empire: St. Vincent de Paul delivers 521 Thanksgiving baskets amid rising need
• KTOO: Q&A: Southeast Alaska Food Bank on growing demand

Sources: Juneau Empire, "Juneau food drives gear up as Thanksgiving demand keeps climbing," 7 November 2026; Juneau Empire, "St. Vincent de Paul delivers 521 Thanksgiving baskets amid rising need," 26 November 2025; KTOO, "Q&A: Southeast Alaska Food Bank on growing demand," 9 July 2026.

How you can help

These organizations work to put food on the table for families in Alaska and across the United States:

• St. Vincent de Paul Juneau runs the city's Thanksgiving basket drive, plus food, clothing and housing help for local families year-round.
• Food Bank of Alaska supplies food to pantries and meal programs across the state, where it says one in six Alaskans experiences food insecurity.
• Feeding America is a national network of food banks, including Food Bank of Alaska, that helps get groceries to people facing hunger across the United States.