For many, Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate family and traditions. One tradition that touches the lives of Bay Area families in need is to help provide a thanksgiving meal for a family in need. Please call ahead to let us know you are planning to donate a thanksgiving meal, so that we can arrange for a family to be waiting for your generous gift! Lynn Matsukawa:510 834-2443, ext 3053.

To build a Thanksgiving Meal in a Box:

• In a solid cardboard box (or two strong paper grocery bags), collect all the non-perishable food items needed to build a Thanksgiving meal. You could include bags or boxes of stuffing, canned vegetables, potatoes, sweet potatoes, marshmallows or brown sugar, canned gravy or gravy mix, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie filling, heat and serve dinner rolls, apple cider, etc. Please note that FSSBA does not have refrigerated storage space, so only add items that will be ok for several days at room temperature.
• Add a gift card for a grocery store like Safeway to allow the family to purchase a turkey, eggs, milk or other perishable items.
• Drop off your box here at FSSBA one week before Thanksgiving. We will ensure that your Thanksgiving Box reaches a family in need, in time for their holiday celebration!

On Thanksgiving Day, when you sit down with your family to celebrate the bounty in your life, another local family will be celebrating with your help!

Our goal is to support parents and caregivers in creating a positive holiday experience and a nurturing environment for children and youth.Our hope is that the program will bring joy to both families and donors during the holiday season andenhance the crucial services that we provide year-round. You are welcome to sponsor a family on yourown, but sponsoring a family is also a wonderful bonding or team-building experience for family members, co-workers, or members of a social club. There are two ways to participate:

One option is to provide us with gift cards or public transit passes of any denomination. Gift cards for stores like Target, Wal-Mart or Safeway are especially useful to our families in need of basic amenities. BART or Muni passes are also wonderful ways to help. We will distribute these gift cards to those most in need during the holidays—they are the easiest way for you to have an immediate, direct impact.
The second option is to sponsor one or more families. If you are sponsoring by yourself or with your immediate family, you may wish to sponsor a smaller or medium sized (2-4 person) family. If you are considering sponsoring along with a group of family members, friends or co-workers you may be able to sponsor two or more families, or a larger (5-10 person) family. We ask that you give at the level that is most comfortable for you.

We will provide you a wish list completed by a family in need, which will include each family member’s first name, age, gender, clothing size, shoe size, and wish list items. The last name given will be fictitious in order to protect the family’s identity. This is an anonymous giving program so we will never give your contact information to the family, and we retain their identifying information as well. Many of our past sponsors have included their children in the giving process as a way of intro

If you would like to sponsor a family in San Francisco, please contact Jayden Donahue at (415) 861-4060 x3012. In the East Bay, contact Moana Newman at (510) 834-2443 x3034.

Sponsor guidelines and delivery instructions and directions.