The holiday season is a special time to create new memories while enjoying a warm meal with family members and other loved ones. Sadly, food insecurity is a very real problem. In the state of Arizona, 1 in 5 children grow up in poverty and come from families that are considered working poor, living on wages that hardly cover basic living expenses. 

To help ensure families do not go without this holiday season, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the Arizona chapter of St. Mary’s Food Bank collaborated to hand out 1,000 Thanksgiving meals to SRPMIC families. 

Each of the food boxes contained a frozen turkey, squash, potatoes, fresh fruit and more. Established zones were created out on the Accelerated Learning Academy parking lot to ensure families had the opportunity to drive-thru and park while volunteers delivered the meals to the vehicles. Each family in line for the turkey giveaway was eligible to receive one Thanksgiving food box. 

This year’s turkey giveaway on November 25 saw a higher number of volunteers compared to previous Thanksgiving giveaways in the Community. More than 100 volunteers, composed of SRPMIC Tribal Council members, assistant community managers and staff, took the time out of their busy morning to help distribute the food boxes. 

Also on hand were many SRPMIC day workers, who assisted the Community Relations Events team with various tasks needed to ensure that the event ran smoothly. 

With prices on the rise in this country in all areas from food to housing, the annual SRPMIC and St. Mary’s Food Bank turkey giveaway provided evidence that the Community continues to ensure that its members and their loved ones have the opportunity to enjoy a warm meal during the holiday season.