St. Vincent de Paul’s 49th annual Thanksgiving Food Box Program has over 700 volunteers coming together to provide a holiday meal to families throughout the Treasure Valley.

On the first two days of Thanksgiving week, families who registered to receive meal boxes line up in their cars on an appointment-based schedule at The Premium Building at Expo Idaho in Garden City from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

After volunteers distribute the meal boxes to pre-registered families, anyone not registered can line up at 5 p.m. on Tuesday to receive any of the remaining meal boxes or food items on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ralph May, the executive director of the organization’s Southwest Idaho chapter, told the Idaho Press in previous years there had been about 200 leftover food boxes distributed, and although he can’t promise the same this year, he is confident there will be leftover meal boxes and encourages people to line up outside the Expo Idaho located at 5610 N. Glenwood St.

“I encourage people to come — people probably are fearful that there’s not one (meal box), but whatever we have, we want to be able to give to people for Thanksgiving,” May said.

He said all food boxes contain a complete Thanksgiving dinner and include a 10-pound turkey, 10 pounds of potatoes, apples, onions, cranberries, gravy mix and canned vegetables.

St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) is a nonprofit organization that serves families and individuals in the Treasure Valley through programs that prevent homelessness, food insecurity and more.

The meal distribution program started in 1976 as a small community-led effort in response to a recognized need by workers at a St. Vincent de Paul thrift store.

Over the last few decades, SVDP Southwest Idaho has witnessed the event transform into a family-to-family act of charity, and a community-wide effort that provided holiday meals to nearly 16,500 people in the Treasure Valley last year, according to the organization’s website.

According to a SVDP press release, last year‘s turnout was the highest number of people served in the program’s history, and May anticipates that number to be closer to 20,000 people who will eat from a Thanksgiving meal box this year.

The nonprofit’s press release said that thousands of Treasure Valley families face food insecurity. SVDP worked alongside school counselors to identify families in need for meal boxes from Boise and West Ada school districts, and other public charter schools.

According to a 2023 Map the Meal Gap study, over 15% of children in Idaho are food insecure. May told the Idaho Press that the SVDP saw a 10-15% increase in family registrations for Thanksgiving food boxes this year.

He also said the organization received over 2,000 Thanksgiving boxes put together by community members from the Treasure Valley including individual families, businesses, and city of Boise employees to hand out during the two-day event.

“These are families that put together Thanksgiving food boxes to feed their neighbors,” May said. “This is truly a family-to-family, active charity.”

Thanksgiving meal boxes are available to households of two or more individuals living in Ada County. May said the organization opens registration as early as the last week of October to a week before the distribution dates. More information on registration can be found online at svdpid.org or at the SVDP Boise Food Pantry on Overland Road.

“It’s such a powerful thing to have people in our community actively caring for others,” May said.

Families can also register to receive toys from the organization’s Christmas Toy Store Program that offers free Christmas gifts to families in need for children up to age 18. Following registration, people with an appointment can choose and gift-wrap their children’s gifts at the St. Vincent de Paul toy stores located in Canyon and Ada counties, which will be open from Dec. 3-18.

More information about registration, volunteering, or donating can be found on the organization’s website or by calling 208-593-3290 from Monday-Friday noon-6 p.m.