Before you belly up to a delicious, full and tiring Thanksgiving meal this week, consider those with less. At Feeding South Dakota, they say now is the time to think about just how much a single donation could change one family’s holiday.
Feeding South Dakota is a prominent food resource across the state, and with the weather getting cold they want to make the holidays special for every family in.
Development director Megan Kjose said the season just isn’t the same without a full table.
“When I think of the holidays, I really think of food first," Kjose said. "I think of having friends and family around the table with me. Being able to provide and work with great sponsors and donors and being able to provide such nutritious meals for the holiday is really great work. We’re lucky to have the partners to provide that to our South Dakota neighbors.”
While Feeding South Dakota has friends, things have changed over the last few years.
“The pandemic really made businesses look at their models, so a lot of the businesses we worked with at a national level really honed in their business operations and might not have the excess they had before the pandemic," Kjose said. "After the pandemic with those operations tightened up and businesses really looking at their bottom line, our food bank isn’t seeing the donations that we were seeing before.”
A dollar spent on canned goods in the grocery store only goes so far, so Kjose wants people to consider Feeding South Dakota’s bulk purchases.
“Cash donations go a really long way. We can make those go further than you might be able to purchasing something at the grocery store yourself," Kjose said. "We can buy 10-12 jars of peanut butter for every one you could buy at the grocery store, so we’re able to be really savvy with those dollars.”
Feeding South Dakota accepts both cash and non-perishable food donations, and information to volunteer with the group can be found online.