Thanksgiving meals and volunteering opportunities in SF

The holiday season is upon us, which means cider, candles, being grateful for what you have, and — of course — eating enough to burst. Several nonprofits in San Francisco are celebrating the holiday by hosting free Thanksgiving dinners and distributing meals to those in need.

Take a look at where you can join a dinner, or where you can volunteer to help.

San Francisco City Impact

San Francisco City Impact is a Christian charity that offers food and community services to residents of the Tenderloin.

On Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., it will be distributing food and blankets at its 140 Turk Street Rescue Center, as well as delivering meals around the neighborhood. Volunteers will also be hosting games and activities for kids and families to enjoy.

If you are interested in volunteering, you can sign up at the San Francisco City Impact website. Volunteers are asked to donate $25 to cover supplies and event admin, and the group is separately seeking donations to pay for meals as well.

Tenderloin Tessie

Bartender and drag star Perry Spink, known by the drag name Tessie, first cooked up a turkey feast in the Tenderloin in 1974 with the help of various tipsy bar friends. Tenderloin Tessie is now a nonprofit that hosts holiday meals with an emphasis on making everyone feel included.

This year’s dinner will be held at the First Unitarian Church, 1187 Franklin St., from 1 to 4 p.m.

Michael Gagne, president of the nonprofit, said that the group has enough volunteers for this week’s event. But the group will need more help for its upcoming Christmas feast. You can find out more and get in contact on the Tenderloin Tessie website.

Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly

The mission of this nonprofit is reducing isolation and loneliness in older adults. On Thanksgiving, volunteers will deliver food and chat with around 350 older people across the city.

Volunteers are still required — there are still 18 older adults in need of a home visit, and 20 in need of food delivery, according to Executive Director Cathy Michalec. Typically, a volunteer would either visit and chat with two adults, or deliver four meals, said Michalec.

Deliveries and home visits will take place from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Find out more or sign up as a volunteer on the Little Brothers website.

St. Anthony’s

St. Anthony’s at 121 Golden Gate Ave. will host a Thanksgiving meal this Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., as well as breakfast from 7 to 8 a.m.

The nonprofit, which serves meals every day, expects to serve between 1,600 and 1,700 lunches on Thanksgiving. Although volunteer slots are all booked up for Nov. 23, volunteers are still needed for the coming weeks and months.

More details can be found on the St. Anthony’s volunteer sign-up page.

Project Open Hand

Project Open Hand provides meals for sick and senior San Franciscans.

On Thanksgiving, it will host Thanksgiving meals at a number of sites throughout the city. A representative for Project Open Hand said that drop-ins are encouraged, but that an ID may be required. Meals will be available on Thursday and Friday at:

• 481 O’Farrell St., 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• 333 Turk St., 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• 66 Raymond Ave., 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

The nonprofit is still looking for volunteers 15 years or older to package, deliver and serve meals over Thanksgiving and the Christmas period. They are also looking for volunteers to host toiletry drives to gather essentials for their clients.

You can see which time slots are available on the Project Open Hand website.

GLIDE

GLIDE’s Thanksgiving meal will be hosted at 330 Ellis St. from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This year will mark the first indoor holiday dining since the pandemic began, according to a GLIDE representative.

The daily free meal program will be running throughout the rest of the week, with breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m. and lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m.

There are no slots left for volunteers on Thanksgiving Day, but GLIDE is still looking for people to help with preparing and serving meals the following week. People 13 years and older can sign up to volunteer on the GLIDE website.

SF-Marin Food Bank

The SF-Marin food bank will be closed on Thursday and Friday, but will reopen on Saturday. Volunteering opportunities can be found on the food bank website.

Operation Santa

If you are simply overflowing with holiday cheer and cannot stop at Thanksgiving, the U.S. Postal Service began its yearly Operation Santa program this week.

Volunteers are invited to adopt a letter full of Christmas wishes, and help Santa choose, wrap, and send gifts to kids in need. Last year, more than 18,000 letters were adopted, and there are already thousands available to read and pick out on the Operation Santa website.

Volunteers will be able to adopt letters up until December 18.

If you know of Thanksgiving meals or volunteering opportunities that we missed here, please let us know at will@missionlocal.com.