Where to go on Thanksgiving Day?

November 11, 2008 10:20 AM

Where in the San Francisco Bay Area can I be of service on Thanksgiving Day?

I want to give to those less fortunate than myself on Thanksgiving. I want to be a part of food service, but don't know where to look. Googling 'food kitchen' brings up results for California Pizza Kitchen and the like.
I live in the North Bay, but would be willing to drive to SF, East Bay locations or places along 101.
Thanks for your help!

posted by SoftSummerBreeze to human relations (7 comments total)

The phrase you're looking for is "soup kitchen."

Glide Memorial Church does a lot with the homeless but it looks like they have enough volunteers.

I would call up Homeward Bound of Marin since you're in the North Bay. It's a wonderful organization that provides a ton of services to the homeless.
posted by radioamy at 10:50 AM on November 11, 2008

As a year-round soup kitchen volunteer, please keep in mind that you and 30,000,000 people suddenly want to volunteer on Thanksgiving Day. It's fine, but keep in mind that soup kitchens function year-round and could use your help year-round.

The term is "soup kitchen". If you find one, don't just turn up thanksgiving day. Contact them now, or stop by during non-holiday hours, and ask them what they need. Listen to what they say. Do what they ask, not what you think is the right thing, or what you feel like doing.

If they say that they have too many volunteers for thanksgiving but need a donation to buy food/supplies/utensils, do that. Don't just show up Thanksgiving morning without a confirmation that they need physical bodies to assist. Otherwise you just put a burden on the facilities and the people trying to create a nice experience for the day.

Someone turned up at our place last week with boxes and boxes of leftover pastries from a bakery. They showed up AFTER the weekly meal was over, everyone was gone, and we were cleaning up. They were dumbstruck when we explained that there was nothing we could do with their offer, no matter how kind and well meaning. We serve once a week. We have very limited space. We couldn't even freeze them because we had run out of ziplocs putting the extra food away and even if we did, we probably would have had to make the choice between freezing actual food and freezing dessert. Food would have won.

The person was upset and angry and no matter how kindly the pastor explained to them what the issues were, they stomped off swearing to never help us again.

Please don't be that person and understand that the soup kitchen may be well staffed for thanksgiving day.
posted by micawber at 10:53 AM on November 11, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

I know this sounds snarky, but soup kitchens need help every day of the year. They have more than enough volunteers on Thanksgiving. Why not volunteer on another day?
posted by ShooBoo at 10:54 AM on November 11, 2008

My brother volunteers for Meals on Wheels in the East Bay, and they are always looking for additional volunteer drivers on Thanksgiving.
posted by Wavelet at 11:00 AM on November 11, 2008

St. Anthony Dining Room always needs volunteers, but they're usually overstaffed on Thanksgiving. As mentioned above, please call beforehand and make arrangements to volunteer.
posted by mattdidthat at 11:12 AM on November 11, 2008

If it has to be Thanksgiving Day service (and I agree with everything above-- many volunteer commitments are already booked by now, since EVERYONE suddenly remembers the poor on Thanksgiving)-- do you have a specialized service you can offer besides just slinging hash?

I'd recommend contacting your local Meals on Wheels (as suggested earlier), or other specialized organizations that deliver meals to shut-ins (i.e. those with HIV/AIDS, etc.), as opposed to trying an actual soup kitchen, as many of their drivers take Thanksgiving day off and there is a real need for labor.

You could also try local nursing homes, etc. who might accept visitors or entertainers to spend the afternoon or a meal with their folks without family in the area.
posted by availablelight at 11:29 AM on November 11, 2008

St Anthony Foundation is a great place to volunteer. Definitely get in touch with them (or anyplace) ahead of time; they're going to want you to attend an orientation beforehand to make sure you understand what they're about and what's expected. I'd also agree that they need help every day- there's lots of people there to volunteer on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but there's thousands of hungry people lined up there every day.

If you want something more direct action-y, try Food Not Bombs.
posted by chbrooks at 10:14 PM on November 11, 2008