By NOELANI KIRSCHNER

Every Thanksgiving thousands of Americans strive to make sure everyone has a meal.

Most take part in the holiday’s rituals, including traveling to spend time with family and counting life’s blessings, and 19% also donate to charities to help others eat well around the holiday, according to a recent poll. It is a time of year that many Americans volunteer at food banks, churches or service organizations in order to help prepare meals or provide ingredients to those without enough.

Volunteers with Operation Turkey, a national nonprofit based in Austin, Texas, cook and deliver thousands of Thanksgiving meals complete with turkey, stuffing, gravy, vegetables and a slice of pie.

After 25 years, the all-volunteer organization has expanded to about 20 cities and now operates in states beyond Texas, including North Carolina and Pennsylvania. “It’s inspiring and humbling watching our local community rally together to make a difference for their neighbors,” says Josh Ortiz , an Operation Turkey volunteer in Dallas. “It all matters and makes a difference.”

Exercising for a cause

Many Americans want to help others while also getting in a little exercise before the big meal. (The average American consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving, according to the Calorie Control Council). Thus, turkey trots — events where people run or walk to raise money for charities — are held in cities and towns across the country. Turkey trots make Thanksgiving “the biggest U.S. running day of the year,” according to the website RunSignup.com.

The 5K Turkey Trot in Granville, Ohio, drew 1,900 runners in 2024 and raised $130,000 for a local food bank. Michelann Scheetz, of St. Luke’s Church, which organizes the annual event, says a team of volunteers works to pull off the Thanksgiving Day tradition that started in 2005. America’s Trot for Hunger, held in Washington, is now in its 24th year and draws thousands.

Jessica McCrorie, who served as a teen ambassador for the national nonprofit Feeding America, said she saw Thanksgiving bring out her own and others’ spirit of generosity. While volunteering with Island Harvest, McCrorie helped the nonprofit in Melville, New York, collect 30 turkeys and hundreds of dollars in donations at a grocery store.

“I feel like people may have felt more generous and connected to the issue of hunger because the Thanksgiving holiday is a time for family and friends to come together and share a meal,” she told Feeding America.