Basket Brigade feeds 10,000 residents for Thanksgiving

The Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago, announces its annual Thanksgiving meal assembly and delivery event, taking place Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22-23, at Harper College in Palatine. The organization aims to provide complete Thanksgiving dinners to 2,000 local families facing food insecurity this year.

The two-day community event brings together volunteers of all ages to pack and personally deliver Thanksgiving meals to families in need throughout the northwest suburbs. Meal assembly takes place with multiple volunteer shifts from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22. Deliveries begin at 9 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, with volunteers personally bringing meals to families in Streamwood, Hanover Park, Bartlett, Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Carpentersville, Elgin, South Elgin, Barrington, Inverness and neighboring towns.

“Our mission goes beyond providing a Thanksgiving dinner,” said a spokesperson for Basket Brigade. “We deliver a message of hope to families, letting them know their community cares about them. At the same time, we believe that the secret to living is giving, so this experience is often as impactful to our volunteers as it is to our recipients.”

By partnering directly with local school districts, social workers, and various groups who support the community, Basket Brigade uniquely identifies families who are food-insecure and most in need of support during the holiday season. Each basket contains all the ingredients needed for a complete Thanksgiving meal.

The organization welcomes individuals, families, teams, and groups to participate in multiple ways. Friday and Saturday are full, but there is a need for delivery drivers on Delivery Day, Sunday, Nov. 23, with shifts starting at each hour between 9 a.m. ant 1 p.m.

Registration is available on the Basket Brigade website: basketbrigade.net.

Community members can support Basket Brigade through financial donations, volunteering, or joining the year-round committee that works on grant writing, fundraising, securing food donations, public relations, and social media campaigns.

For more information about volunteering, donating, or joining the committee, visit basketbrigade.net, or contact cherish@basketbrigade.net.

Volunteers are encouraged to share their experience using the hashtag #DeliveringThanksgiving on social media.

The Lorraine M. Walsh Memorial Foundation (DBA Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing complete Thanksgiving dinners to families in need while fostering a spirit of giving in the community. Through partnerships with local school districts, the organization identifies food-insecure families with children and delivers both meals and hope during the holiday season.