Feeding South Dakota hosts Thanksgiving meal distribution event

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Rising gas and grocery prices have left some families struggling to afford their Thanksgiving meals, and Feeding South Dakota is working to change that.

“With all the grocery bills and stuff going up, everything is going up it’s harder for people to get food. So, we just come out here to try to provide that extra supplement for them,” said Gene Carsten, operations associate and driver for Feeding South Dakota.

Cars packed the parking lot during Feeding South Dakota’s annual Thanksgiving meal distribution. With enough supplies to help 1,500 families, the organization handed out turkeys, gravy, sweet potatoes, brownies, and other produce to those in need.

Bryce Vogel, a longtime volunteer for Feeding South Dakota added, “Honestly, I’m just feeling pretty good about this. I mean we got a lot of product here as you can see, and of course, more people are getting food thanks to our work and to the work the guys of Feeding South Dakota are doing.”

“Particularly this year we’ve really seen an impact because of inflation. Our mobile distributions that we provide food through every single month have gone up month over month. We’re serving about 49% more people this time, this year than we were last year. So, we definitely knew this was something we needed to do, and we increased the amount of meals were giving away this year by 500,” said Stacey Andernacht, the marketing and communication director for Feeding South Dakota.

The giveaway is made possible through community support. Greg and Pam Sands of Sands Wall Systems pledged a dollar-for-dollar match for anything donated through Thanksgiving.

For more information on donating or volunteering at Feeding South Dakota click here.