BY CHRISTIAN WARREN FREED
It’s no secret. Times are tough. Then again, they always seem to be these days. Certainly not as tough as when I was a kid going with my mom to scour the bean fields after the farm picker came through for harvest, but trying nonetheless. No matter what we do, our dollars don’t stretch as far as they used to.
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rices continue rising, some through normal increases, most through inflation. Take a look around the shelves of your favorite grocery store and you might feel the pinch a little more than usual. For some, the difference is nominal. For others, cost increases often mean the difference between what you planned to get at the store and what you actually come home with.
With the holidays upon us, many families find themselves in need of a helping hand. Never mind the gifts, office parties, and all that noise, just ensuring there’s enough on the table to feed a family becomes a mission and a worry.
I remember sitting on guard duty in Mosul, Iraq, with the other officers and NCOs while the soldiers enjoyed a day off for Christmas. Our mess hall brought in a huge feast with all the fixings. By the time we seniors came to eat, there was nothing left but turkey MREs. Kind of a bummer since the smells of real food had us salivating, but…ah, well.
Flash forward a few decades and many of us are now faced with similar scenarios. We switch from name brands to store brands, often sacrificing quality for quantity. We avoid costly items guaranteed to devour our budgets and pray that paycheck has enough to handle all our expenses. This certainly feels true when it comes time to plan for those giant family holiday feasts.
According to the latest Farm Bureau annual survey, the average cost for a traditional Thanksgiving meal capable of feeding 10 people is $64.05. That doesn’t seem like much, especially when you break it down. Who can’t afford $6.50 for a good meal? There’s only one problem. This price represents a 20% increase from the year before. I’m no genius, but 20% of anything adds up in ways our wallets can’t handle before breaking.
Fortunately, there are avenues to explore well ahead of time. Many, if not all, grocery stores offer “meal deals” at comparatively low costs. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, they are already taking orders.
Publix offers a 10-person meal for $70.00. This includes turkey, cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry relish, gravy, and something they call marshmallow delight. They recommend ordering a minimum of 48 hours in advance.
Walmart — I know, I know. Big Corporate ruins small mom and pops — but they have the best bang for your buck. On September 24, Walmart headquarters laid out their plans for holiday shopping, including meal prep. According to Walmart execs, they are removing the inflation from your meal planning AND offering a full Thanksgiving dinner at a lower cost than last year.
Walmart’s meal kit serves 10 and includes 28 “customer favorites,” complete with turkey, trimmings, and desserts. Their meal averages less than $7 per person. Special note: this meal deal is good for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Keep in mind that most grocers start advertising their holiday meal sales anywhere from two to three weeks out, so keep checking with your favorite store for sales and deals.
If you’re feeling more adventurous or have no plans for larger gatherings, there are a number of meal delivery options available. You know the ones. Hello Fresh, Home Apron, the list goes on. Some of these can be expensive, but you know what you’re getting in the box and there’s not much left over afterwards.
Worth noting is that some of these deliveries are already sold out. Hello Fresh was sold out by the end of September, furthering the need to plan in advance if you want to put on the spread of your dreams at a reasonable cost.
If you are having difficulties or worries in preparing for the holidays, there are avenues to turn to right here in town. Check online with your favorite grocer to find the deal right for your family.
But what about those of us who are in need of a little more? Hard times hit us all, especially around the holidays. There are plenty of options available to turn to for a little assistance. From the nationally based Salvation Army and Feeding America to local churches and non-profit organizations, plenty of folks out there are giving their time, resources, and energy to ensure all go to sleep with full stomachs.
Finding food when you really need it doesn’t always mean turning to a grocery store. The Holly Springs Food Cupboard off of W. Holly Springs Road, for instance, is a community location. Whether you need food or want to volunteer to help others, the Food Cupboard is a critical, if often overlooked, resource in our town. We’ve all driven by it a hundred times, but how many of us actually stop in to help? The Food Cupboard operates year-round and encourages volunteers to stop in and spend a few hours gardening, cultivating various crops, and bagging food supplies for local patrons.
The Holly Springs Food Cupboard does not cater to one specific group of people. Instead, they service our entire community in equal measure. From their website, “Many associate the Food Cupboard with the homeless population, but it is a small percentage of the people we serve. Hunger looks like middle-class families suffering from joblessness, senior citizens who face the choice of buying food or medicine, and children who arrive at school hungry because there’s no food at home.”
The Food Cupboard is open almost year-round but closed on Thanksgiving Day and they shut down operations from Christmas Eve through the beginning of January. While the Food Cupboard does not have any specific holiday meals for distribution, they will provide enough food, from baked goods to canned and fresh foods, to take care of your family.
If you do choose to go the Food Cupboard route, it is important to note that you can only use this service once every thirty days. If you are of the more altruistic attitude, they are always accepting food donations as well as time spent helping out.
Few things can affect us as much as the holiday season. Regardless of how you celebrate or which holiday you adhere to, the manic atmosphere driving our days is all consuming and raises stress levels across the board. With so much to think about, a good meal should be the last thing on your list. This is a special time of year for everyone. Let’s make it better for all of Holly Springs. More than anything, Happy Holidays and may your plates be filled with plenty.
Holly Springs Food Cupboard: https://hsfoodcupboard.org/
Pre-packaged holiday meals:
– Publix: https://www.publix.com/mc/order-ahead/order-holiday-meals
– Walmart: https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2024/09/19/walmart-unveils-its-holiday-plans-with-early-shopping-deals-and-affordable-meals
Feeding America: https://www.feedingamerica.org/need-help-find-food/thanksgiving
Salvation Army: https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/cure-hunger/
