Thanksgiving Basket Donations

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Beth Skogen

A person in a turkey suit carrying a turkey.

The Goodman turkey helps load groceries into cars on distribution day in 2021.

media release: The Goodman Community Center issued an urgent call for donations today to complete all 4,000 Thanksgiving Baskets to be distributed this weekend.  

“While we still need almost every item on our grocery list, we most urgently need donations of gravy, vegetable oil, and canned vegetables. Currently we’re over 2,000 short of each of those items,” said GCC Food Pantry Assistant Director Francesca Frisque. “We’re asking people to bring their donations as soon as possible so our volunteers can fill these baskets on Friday night. There are 4,000 families counting on us and we can’t let them down.” 

While gravy, vegetable oil, and canned vegetables are in the shortest supply, donations of frozen turkeys, mac & cheese, cranberry sauce, broth, and stuffing are still needed. Donors can download a shopping list on Goodman’s website or donate online. 

For 36 years, the Goodman Community Center has provided families from across Dane County with everything they need to make a traditional Thanksgiving meal at home, a feast made possible through the generosity of donors, corporate sponsors, and volunteers from across the community. All week donors have been dropping off donations at Goodman’s gymnasium, where volunteers are sorting thousands of pounds of food in preparation to pack the bags on Friday evening. Recipients signed up in October to receive a bag, with registration reaching capacity in record time.  

Each Thanksgiving Basket contains a frozen turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, canned vegetables, mac and cheese, broth, vegetable oil, dinner rolls, milk, butter, eggs, onions, potatoes, carrots, Chocolate Shoppe ice cream, pumpkin pie, and (new this year) a can of Fortune Favors nuts. The center relies on in-kind donations for the nonperishable items and many of the frozen turkeys and uses monetary donations to purchase most of the items requiring refrigeration as well as the remaining turkeys.  

A countdown of the items still needed updated daily on Goodman Community Center’s website as well as Facebook, and Instagram accounts. 

“Filling these Thanksgiving Baskets is a community-wide effort,” said Goodman Community Center CEO Letesha Nelson. “From churches and businesses who have donated food by the truck load to families who just put a few extra cans into their basket when they go shopping, it all matters, it all helps, and it is all deeply appreciated.  I’ve had the chance to chat with the families who receive this food, and it just makes a huge difference. A growing number of people in our community are struggling with food insecurity, and the holidays just make that need more acute.” 

Food donations can be brought to Goodman Community Center’s gymnasium on Thursday and Friday, 10 am–7 pm and Saturday and Sunday, 9 am–5 pm. Monetary donations can be given on Goodman’s website or brought to the gymnasium or front desk. 

About the Goodman Community Center  

The Goodman Community Center strengthens lives and secures futures throughout the greater Madison area. Located in the heart of Madison’s Atwood neighborhood, GCC offers programs for preschoolers through teens, families, individuals, and older adults. The Goodman Center has on-site childcare services, including fully licensed and accredited preschool, 4K and elementary after-school programs, as well as a teen center that offers after-school activities and employment opportunities for teens. The center’s food pantry serves more than 200 households a week and is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and they also offer meals, social activities and health and wellness opportunities for seniors. Accessibility is a top priority of the Goodman Center, and as such most of the center’s programs are free or priced to be very affordable, including access to its fitness center, catering services, and community spaces.   

Every year in November, the Goodman Center hosts its Thanksgiving Basket Drive, when they collect donations to provide thousands of Dane County families with everything they need to make a Thanksgiving meal at home.  

Learn more at goodmancenter.org or find Goodman on Facebook, and Instagram