INDIANAPOLIS — Several Hoosier organizations are busy preparing thousands of Thanksgiving meals this week.
Some groups already have all the help they need, but others say there are still plenty of ways to get involved.
“Nobody should go hungry any day, especially on Thanksgiving Day,” said Mozel Sanders Foundation COO Stephanie Sanders.
Kitchens across Indianapolis are already starting to smell like Thanksgiving dinner. Cooks are busy carving turkeys as they prepare to feed Hoosiers in need.
“This year we’re looking to feed approximately 10,000 hungry individuals with some good food,” Sanders said. “And then we’re going to deliver their meals to their homes.”
It is a long-standing tradition for some groups like the Mozel Sanders Foundation and the start of a brand-new journey for others like the Jones Lewis Foundation.
“We were founded this year in our foundation, so I decided to take it over this year,” Jones Lews Foundation CEO and Founder Ta’Quan Jones said.
Jones is leading the charge for the first time at Broadway United Methodist Church. It will be the first Thanksgiving dinner served there since COVID. The group will be delivering and serving food to families in person.
“My favorite part about being able to help people on Thanksgiving is to look at the people when they’re receiving the help and seeing the joy and happiness within them,” Jones described.
While groups like the Jones Lewis Foundation book volunteers for the days leading up to Thanksgiving months in advance, some organizations are still in need of help on Turkey Day itself.
“I have a lot of people calling me and volunteering,” Sanders said. “Slots are filled, but that hour when it’s time to clean up, it’s nobody but us.”
If you cannot help in person, you can still make a difference though.
“To feed a family of four is $20,” Sanders said. “So please donate.”
Both groups say their work stretches beyond the final Thursday of November. Whether it is helping fill the Jones Lewis Foundation’s brand new food pantry or helping the Mozel Sanders Foundation feed Indianapolis students each Friday, both groups say they welcome any support year-round.
To learn more about how to get involved with the Jones Lewis Foundation, click here. You can also read more about getting involved with the Mozel Sanders Foundation by clicking here.
Both foundations say families who want Thanksgiving meals delivered on Thursday need to have already signed up, but they are also hoping to be able to give out additional meals.
