Thanksgiving Meal Match at Feeding South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — An organization supplying meals to every county in South Dakota is receiving a helping hand in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

Volunteers are filling bags with cereal, fruit cups, and juice boxes for the Backpack Program at Feeding South Dakota.

"There's a lot of hungry people in South Dakota," Feeding South Dakota volunteer Reid Gerdes said.

Waffles, coffee, local food now at Makers Exchange in Tea

Reid Gerdes has been volunteering at Feeding South Dakota for two years, and knows they'll soon be boxing up Thanksgiving meals.

"People like to get together, families, and enjoy a good meal," Gerdes said.

Feeding South Dakota is currently collecting donations to help cover the cost of creating Thanksgiving dinner for thousands of families in need.

"We're so grateful to Greg & Pam Sands for their continued support of this Thanksgiving meal giveaway," Community Engagement Manager Jennifer Stensaas said.

Jennifer Stensaas is the community engagement manager, and says the Greg & Pam Sands Foundation will double your donation through Thanksgiving Day.

"It's been many years and they continue to come through and do a match for us during the month of November," Stensaas said.

The dollars raised in the coming weeks will help Feeding South Dakota hand out 3,000 Thanksgiving meals between Sioux Falls and Rapid City.

"The Thanksgiving meal this year will be a turkey breast and all of the traditional fixings that go along with that. We're distributing them the Saturday before Thanksgiving so that families will have time to get all of that prepared the next week," Stensaas said.

With 106,000 people in South Dakota considered food insecure, the effort is massive, but the mission is simple.

"You really just hope to take one less worry off of the plates and allow all of these families to be together in their homes and enjoy each other's company for Thanksgiving," Stensaas said.

The Thanksgiving meal giveaway is Saturday, November 23rd, from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. local time in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, but the donation match continues through Thanksgiving Day .