Help the Iowa Giving Crew give families a good Thanksgiving meal

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Right now, hundreds of thousands of Iowans are wondering how they’ll put a Thanksgiving meal on the table this year. Data compiled by Feeding America show 376,000 Iowans are struggling with hunger right now. About a third are children.

KCRG-TV9 and the Iowa Giving Crew want to make sure some of those families don’t have to wonder much longer. We’re teaming up to gather donations for Operation Give Birds. Eastern Iowans can donate at any time on the Iowa Giving Crew’s website. Our big push, called Great Give Day, will be November 12. That’s also when families can sign up for meals, starting at 9 a.m. A link will be put in this article once that goes live.

A donation of $40 feeds a family of four. The Iowa Giving Crew is hoping to provide 2,750 meals. The meals will go to areas like Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Waterloo, Dubuque, Davenport and – new this year – the Mason City-Forest City area. This goal is an increase from last year when Operation Give Birds provided 2,600 meals and the year before when the group provided 2,500 meals.

Meals will be distributed November 22 at Van Meter in Cedar Rapids starting at 12 p.m. The meals include turkey from Fareway and sides including green beans, corn, potatoes and stuffing from HACAP.

Operation Give Birds started almost 10 years ago when someone posted a buddy’s cell phone number on Craigslist. The post said anyone who needed a Thanksgiving dinner could call him. There was so much response his group of friends raised $1,500 and was able to give away 80 Thanksgiving dinners in 2017. With help from eastern Iowans, they’ve since fed more than 40,000 people.

That group of friends became the Iowa Giving Crew, a 501c3 nonprofit. They are helping eastern Iowans throughout the year by addressing gaps in funding for education, community resources and mental health.