Outside the St. Vincent de Paul pantry in Omaha, the line now forms hours before the doors open at 9 a.m. In Phoenix, a food bank is counting turkeys it does not have yet. In a small Virginia town, a church that closed its doors this year reopened them as a free pantry. Across the country, families are feeling the squeeze of higher prices, and neighbors, churches and small businesses are answering with something Americans have always been good at: showing up.
This is a look at where the need is, and where hope is being built, one box and one volunteer shift at a time.
The numbers right now
- 47.9 million people experienced food insecurity at some point in 2024, according to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap 2026 study, released this summer.
- 11% more visits: average monthly visits at the Omaha St. Vincent de Paul pantry are up 11% from a year ago, WOWT reported Nov. 6. One volunteer said daily visitors grew from about 80 to as many as 150 in three years.
- About 10% more need: St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix says demand is up about 10% this year and it was roughly 11,500 turkeys short of its holiday goal as of Nov. 11, KJZZ reported.
- $617.2 billion: Americans’ total charitable giving in 2025, a record in current dollars, up 5.7%, according to Giving USA. Giving to religion reached $151.6 billion, about 23% of the total.
- 75.7 million volunteers: Americans who formally volunteered in AmeriCorps’ latest national survey, covering 2022-23, while 54% of Americans informally helped their neighbors.
What families are telling us
Pantry leaders describe a new kind of visitor. In Omaha, the executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul told WOWT that rising prices, especially gas, and wages that lag inflation are bringing in people who have never asked for help before. In Charlotte, Michigan, Helping Hands Food Pantry says the number of families it serves is up an average of 30%, including first-time visitors, WILX reported.
In Texas, calls to 211 seeking food aid rose 28.6% from February to June, while food banks absorbed federal funding cuts, The Texas Tribune reported. Changes to SNAP have also pushed more families toward pantries in several states.
Where hope is being built
- A closed church, reopened for its neighbors: In Vinton, Virginia, the former St. Timothy Lutheran Church became the Grace.Period Free Food Pantry, led by a retired pastor with support from the regional ELCA synod. It served nearly 100 people on its first day in September, WDBJ7 reported.
- A church pantry and a car dealer team up: In Grand Junction, Colorado, the Clifton Christian Church Food Bank plans more than 500 holiday meals. A local dealership, Bozarth Miller Chevrolet, is donating a holiday food box for every car it sells through Thanksgiving. “Our community is really coming together,” the food bank’s director told KKCO.
- A pantry that grew: Helping Hands in Charlotte, Michigan, has a new freezer and refrigerator running as part of a $450,000 expansion, with a ribbon cutting planned Dec. 6. It is about $28,000 short of its goal.
- An army of volunteers: The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York is planning 575,000 Thanksgiving meals at 45 sites on Nov. 21 and is calling for about 4,500 volunteers.
A word for weary helpers
Volunteers and pantry directors say the work can feel endless when shelves empty by noon. Scripture speaks to exactly that kind of tiredness:
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Galatians 6:9 (KJV)
Paul wrote those words to ordinary believers who were carrying one another’s burdens. The promise is not that the need disappears overnight, but that faithful, steady kindness is never wasted. This Thanksgiving season, that may look like a can of tuna, a Saturday morning shift, or simply telling a neighbor where the pantry is.
How you can help, or get help
- Give what pantries ask for: leaders across these reports name canned proteins, peanut butter, bread, milk, eggs, toilet paper and hygiene items. Cash often stretches further because food banks buy in bulk.
- Give time: a Moses Lake, Washington, food bank manager told the Columbia Basin Herald its greatest needs are food, money and “donations of people’s time.”
- Adopt one ministry: pick one local church pantry or food bank and support it all year, not just in November.
- Need help? Dial 211 or visit Feeding America’s food bank finder. Many church pantries ask no questions. As the Charlotte pantry’s director put it: “Walk in our door.”
Why it matters for families
When budgets are tight, a full pantry shelf can be the difference between a family making rent and falling behind. And for those who give, nearly every pantry in these reports runs on volunteers, which means one person’s Saturday morning really does keep the doors open.
What to watch next
Watch holiday food drives over the next two weeks, the USDA’s proposed SNAP eligibility change, which takes public comments through Dec. 10, and Giving Tuesday on Dec. 1. Upstormed News will keep sharing stories of neighbors helping neighbors.
Where have you seen your community step up this year? Tell us in the comments.
This story is part of America Right Now, Upstormed News’ series on the changes American families are living through. Read the full series.
Related coverage: Five Loaves in a Boy’s Hands: What the Feeding of the Five Thousand Teaches Us · Thanksgiving 2026 meal deals compared: What $30-$40 buys at Walmart, Aldi, Target
Read more: The Persistent Editor Who Gave America Thanksgiving in the Middle of a War
Sources: WOWT, “St. Vincent de Paul food pantry says donations are not keeping up with demand” (Nov. 6, 2026); KJZZ, “St. Mary’s Food Bank is over 11,000 turkeys short of Thanksgiving goal” (Nov. 11, 2026); KKCO, “Clifton Christian Church Food Bank prepares hundreds of holiday meals for Mesa County families” (Nov. 8, 2026); WILX, “Charlotte food pantry expands as need grows and SNAP changes are proposed” (Nov. 10, 2026); WDBJ7, “Target 7: Old church gets new life as a free food pantry” (Sept. 28, 2026); Columbia Basin Herald via Yahoo News, “Meeting the need” (Nov. 10, 2026); Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, “2026 Thanksgiving Food Distribution” (Nov. 2026); The Texas Tribune, “1 in 5 Texans experience food insecurity as food banks struggle to keep up with demand” (Sept. 3, 2026); Gleaners Community Food Bank, “Feeding America 2026 Map the Meal Gap” (Aug. 10, 2026); The NonProfit Times, “Giving USA: $617.2B Was Given To Nonprofits During 2025” (June 23, 2026); AmeriCorps, “More than 75.7 Million People Volunteered in America, AmeriCorps Reports” (2024); Bible Hub, “Galatians 6:9 (KJV)” (accessed Nov. 11, 2026)
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