House of Hope Is Serving Up Thanksgiving Dinner With All the Fixings
STUART, Fla. – For many, Thanksgiving means turkey with all the fixings, but for the thousands of people in our community who are food insecure, that traditional meal is unaffordable.
House of Hope is once again holding its annual turkey drive to help its 7,000 clients and its partners at local food pantries and soup kitchens provide those customary Thanksgiving holiday meals. What’s different this year is “all the fixings.”
“While boxed and canned items are always in demand, our goal at House of Hope is to add fresh vegetables to the mix and help people learn to eat more nutritious meals.” said Rob Ranieri, CEO of House of Hope.
In an innovative approach to getting fresh food to their clients, House of Hope developed hydroponic greenhouses as well as conventional in-ground beds at their production farm in Palm City. “We’re growing our own,” Ranieri said, “so we can be sure our clients benefit from fresh produce along with staples in their diet.”
Every Tuesday and Friday, staff and volunteers harvest the latest crop. When Thanksgiving dinners are distributed during the week of November 15, they’ll include traditional items as well as fresh produce from the House of Hope production farm.
“The demand for food assistance continues to break all records,” Ranieri said. “We have gone from distributing one million pounds of food in the fiscal year before the pandemic to 1.5 million pounds two years ago. In the fiscal year that ended on September 30, we broke the 2.1 million pound mark.”
Community generosity is essential, and at least 400 turkeys are needed. Anyone able to donate turkeys and other foodstuffs can bring them to the House of Hope offices at 2484 SE Bonita Street in Stuart by November 12. Thanksgiving distribution will be available at all four of the House of Hope food pantries in Stuart, Jensen Beach, Hobe Sound and Indiantown.
“People need food, and we’re prepared to help them. With the generosity of our community and the harvests from our garden,” Ranieri said, “we can make this Thanksgiving one that’s filled with the spirit of gratitude and also healthy food.”
About House of Hope
Founded in 1984, House of Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers Martin County residents to overcome hunger and hardship. House of Hope touches the lives of more than 7,000 people each month helping with basic needs such as food, clothing, furniture, financial assistance, as well as longer-term case management services that help build life skills for a more self-sufficient future.
The organization has service centers and thrift stores in Stuart, Hobe Sound, Indiantown, and Jensen Beach. House of Hope’s Golden Gate Center for Enrichment in Stuart offers free programs, technology, and workshops designed to enhance life skills, earning potential, health, and overall well-being.
House of Hope also operates the Growing Hope Farm in Palm City and several nutrition gardens that provide sustainable sources of fresh produce for clients as well as nutrition education and vocational opportunities to the community. For more information, visit hohmartin.org or call 772-286-4673. Updates and announcements can also be found on Facebook, Instagram Instagram, and Twitter.
Attachment: It’s a busy harvesting season at House of Hope, where “growing our own” has become a way of feeding the thousands who depend on House of Hope for food distribution.