Thanksgiving Loaves and Fishes Program
Support Our 2025 Thanksgiving Loaves and Fishes Program
About
Our mission is to generously share the love of Christ by providing Thanksgiving dinner to the hungry, poor and vulnerable in our communities. More than just providing a meal, we offer them dignity and respect as children of God.
Have Questions?Who We Serve
Our brothers and sisters at Resurrection Catholic Church, homeless shelters, and halfway houses
Donate to Loaves and Fishes
Donating to our program helps provide a warm and nourishing meal for those in need, spread joy, and foster a sense of community during the Thanksgiving season.
Donate OnlineVolunteer with Thanksgiving Loaves and Fishes
Any Safe-Environment-certified adult 18 and up.
You would serve alongside a generous, faith-filled group of volunteers who each year provide food for a Thanksgiving meal to the homeless, poor, and people in crisis.
Serve on Leadership Team
- Volunteer to “Chair” the Thanksgiving program, with the support of the staff program liaison and a team of volunteers.
- Call past locations of the Thanksgiving program to identify needs in the current year.
- Promote need for food and financial donations to coordinate Thanksgiving Program for the needy.
- Update food inventory Excel spreadsheet(s) and Signup Genius food collection signup forms.
- Coordinate the logistics of food donations before event: collecting, storing, distributing.
- Recruit and organize volunteers for Distribution Day held the weekend before Thanksgiving Day.
- Call potential food and financial donors when needed.
- Recruit volunteers for church and off-site volunteer work.
- Organize data tracking system of food donations for program calculations.
- Volunteer during Distribution Day, on Sundays after Masses, weeks before the event, and temporarily store food in the Mercy Center.
- Along with POP staff, organize and facilitate the pre-event meeting of church volunteers one week before Thanksgiving.
Donate Food
Donate non-perishable canned, boxed, and packaged foods, as well as frozen turkeys and fresh bread and pies (store baked and packaged).
Volunteer on Thanksgiving Day
- Serve on Distribution Day (usually the Saturday before Thanksgiving) in the morning at Prince of Peace:
- Welcome and check-in volunteers
- Assemble boxes in the Mercy Center.
- Receive incoming food donations from car lines.
- Sort and pack food into boxes.
- Help with traffic control.
- “Run” boxes of food to delivery vehicles.
- Load delivery vehicles.
- Donate use of truck/SUV and deliver food to a homeless shelter or Resurrection Catholic Church.
- Serve on Distribution Day at Resurrection: team up with volunteers from our sister parish, Resurrection, to distribute uncooked meals to the community.
- Serve at Prince of Peace prior to Distribution Day:
- Collect non-perishable goods after Masses in November
- Collect non-perishable goods at the Mercy Center during the week in November
Leadership Team begins work a few months prior to Thanksgiving.
Other volunteers will serve on Distribution Day (Saturday before Thanksgiving) either at Prince of Peace or at Resurrection.
Because you help ensure that individuals and families in need experience the joy and warmth of the holiday season by providing them with nourishing meals and a sense of community and care.Here are a few of the locations we serve:
- Resurrection Catholic Church
- Isaiah House
- Providence House
- Kolbe Halfway House
- Casa Juan Diego (Men’s & Women’s shelters)
- Magnificat Houses
- Tunnels to Towers
If you are 18 years old and above, our archdiocese requires all adult volunteers to complete safe environment training.
This short one-hour online training teaches people how to create a secure and protected environment for everyone, especially children, by recognizing and preventing potential risks or harm.
Click here to register for Safe Environment Training.
Dcn. Robert Trahan
“It has been a joy to come out here on Thanksgiving morning with my family for the past 13 years to volunteer either on campus at Prince of Peace or at one of the off-campus locations. The Thanksgiving Loaves and Fishes Program has always been a meaningful way for me to give back to those in need.”
Contact Us
Gretchen Hollas
Thanksgiving Loaves and Fishes Coordinator
Brachy Andrade (Bilingual)
Food Pantry Manager
"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me."