The Goodman Community Center’s Thanksgiving Basket program will begin distributing holiday groceries to more than 4,000 Dane County families this weekend, and they still need help collecting food, according to a press release from the east side non-profit organization. With less than a week to go and more families registered than ever before, GCC is calling on the community to help push them over the finish line.
“It’s crunch time for us, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous,” said Francesca Frisque, GCC food pantry manager, in a statement. “Donations have started coming in, but we still need a lot of help if we’re going to provide more than 4,000 families with Thanksgiving groceries.”
For the last 34 years, the Goodman Center has provided families from across Dane County with everything they need to make a traditional Thanksgiving meal at home. This year, the center saw unprecedented demand for the baskets, with more than 3,000 families signing up on the first day of registration. By Oct. 28, the center had registered more than 4,000 families for a basket.
“Inflation has been hard on everyone in our community,” said Frisque. “We’ve seen a huge demand on our food pantry since August, so I wasn’t surprised when so many people registered for a basket on that first day. Every year, it feels so important to make sure every family who needs one gets a basket, but this year it feels even more urgent. There’s not a lot of time between today and when the first car shows up. We’re going to need our community’s help for sure.”
Food donations can be dropped off at the Goodman Community Center gym (149 Waubesa St.) during these hours:
- Monday-Tuesday, Nov. 14-15 10am-3pm
- Wednesday-Friday, Nov. 16-18, 10am-7pm
- Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 19-20, 9am-5pm
Those who can’t drop off food can make a financial gift online at goodmancenter.org/donate. The center will shop for last-minute needs later in the week.
