Food trucks, frozen turkey, tons of volunteers. How food banks prepare for Thanksgiving.

NEW YORK – With a 2000s-era Ne-Yo R&B song ringing through speakers, volunteers swept floors and washed dishes at Brooklyn's CHiPS food pantry one recent afternoon. The midday lunch rush had just ended, and Pauline Auguste was already giving marching orders to the next wave − and mentally thinking ahead to Thanksgiving.

"They don't know how I do it on a daily basis," said Auguste, who commands an army of nearly 1,000 volunteers, some who come once a week, some once a year. "I can't afford to get overwhelmed, because if I become overwhelmed, then everything goes haywire."

This fall, staff like Auguste across the country have been anticipating Thanksgiving by gathering frozen turkeys, financial donations large and small, and trying to make their budgets stretch. Volunteers are counting every box of stuffing this month so staff know how much is still needed.

As wages have failed to keep pace with housing costs in recent years, more families and older adults have sought out food banks, nonprofits leaders told USA TODAY. The nonprofits – which range from self-shop hubs to vertical urban farms to food trucks – are coming up with creative solutions to ensure no one who shows up leaves empty-handed. Persistent volunteers and thoughtful donations – even as small as a 1-pound bag of rice – are like individual drops that form a constant stream of support, said Miriam Ortiz, director of the Gladiolus Food Pantry in Fort Myers, Florida.

"People have a heart and they're thinking of us," Ortiz, 58, said. "I get checks for $5 or $10 and we appreciate every single amount."

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'An explosion of need'

As child poverty has increased in recent years, more parents and kids are showing up for help, food bank leaders told USA TODAY. The numbers are consistent with the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which found 13.5% of Americans households were food-insecure in 2023.

More seniors living off Social Security are coming to the Gladiolus Food Pantry, Ortiz said, and in Brooklyn, CHiPS is serving more families that are housed with both parents working, Executive Director Peter Endriss said.

CHiPS also expanded its operations to include a food pantry truck last year, which goes to five Brooklyn neighborhoods, stopping at two elementary schools, helping the nonprofit serve more people than ever. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, CHiPS served between 100 and 150 sit-down lunches per day. Now, they provide between 400 and 500 to-go meals daily.

“There’s just been an explosion of need," said 75-year-old volunteer Mark Hoglund, comparing this year and last to 2017, when he started helping. Auguste, 39, also said 2023 and 2024 are "when our numbers just skyrocketed."

In Wisconsin, there's been a 30% increase in monthly visits in 2024 compared with 2023 at the state Hunger Task Force food bank, according to CEO Matt King.

"The number one piece of feedback we get is the increased cost of housing is putting a very real strain on family budgets and a lot of tough choices are needing to be made," King said.

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At the San Antonio Food Bank, low-income community members feel "frustrated," stuck in a vicious cycle of monthly rent and utility costs they can't keep up with, said CEO Eric Cooper.

"They have been skilling up, but still can't find meaningful employment. A good-paying job just seems out of reach for many," Cooper said. "They also seem exhausted, having to juggle multiple income strategies like driving for Uber and participating in the gig economy."

This year, the San Antonio Food Bank served up to 400,000 individuals monthly, according to Cooper, including people who come in for help accessing food stamps and job-hunting resources. To meet the staggering need this Thanksgiving, Cooper's team began buying frozen turkeys "at a strategic time" – immediately after Thanksgiving 2023 through spring 2024, when the price-per-pound was lowest. They will give away nearly 30,000 birds, Cooper said.

Armies of volunteers and 'egg ladies'

Like Hoglund at CHiPS, Peggy Rosenburg dedicates many hours each week volunteering at the Gladiolus Food Pantry.

Rosenburg doesn't have a title other than "volunteer," but over the past 19 years, she's organized her own condo community into an arsenal of support for the pantry, acting like a funnel for people's generosity. Her bocce club has an annual tournament centered around donating food and older couples call Rosenburg before they leave on cruise ships so that she can clean out their refrigerators.

"The community knows that I'm a contact person," Rosenburg told USA TODAY.

The 78-year-old is also part of a cadre of women dubbed "the egg ladies," because they gather hundreds of empty egg cartons to be reused by Ortiz, who distributes dozens of the key protein item after purchasing unboxed bulk orders.

Food bank leaders who spoke with USA TODAY said Thanksgiving spots are quickly filled by volunteers who "are really grateful for the opportunity to do something that is so real," Endriss said.

"They thank us when they're leaving, which is a really funny dynamic because we should be thanking them for all the work they've done," Endriss said.

'I want them to have that dignity'

In Las Vegas, which has some of the highest unemployment in the country, fresh-grown vegetables from the Obodo Collective save people money on groceries and help them make rent, said Executive Director Tameka Henry.

The group's half-acre farm grows more than 20 different root vegetables, leafy greens and fruit trees. Professional chefs teach people how to cook with the ingredients at the group's "Sunset Suppers," a farm-to-table experience involving harvesting and a dinner over candlelight.

"They may be in need, but that doesn't mean they should have to take whatever you give," said Henry, 47. "I want them to have that dignity."

This Thanksgiving, Henry is hoping to give away 100 turkeys as well as grocery store gift cards, which she said are the best way to let people shop for what they need.

In Milwaukee, the Hunger Task Force food pantry has also invested in a mobile pantry that takes food to where people live, including Halal offerings for the city's Muslim community. The 35-stop truck route has evolved over the past 10 years depending on needs, King said.

"It comes down to being responsive and listening to the needs of the people we serve, and then being willing to adapt," King said.

'They know we need help'

Ahead of Thanksgiving, King's team received a $50 check, mailed by a sender they recognized from their food pantry line. The woman said she was better off now, King said, and wanted "to give so that someone else who's going through a hard time has that same support and that same hope."

Small donations also poured into Gladiolus this month, Ortiz said, including from a woman who mailed two 1-pound bags of rice and a man who sent one box of shelf-stable milk.

"They just go and buy it and send it because they know we are hurting, they know we need help," Ortiz said.

At Brooklyn's CHiPS pantry, an explosion of giving and man-hours will erupt this holiday season, as Park Slope neighbors roast turkeys and high school students bake pies − enough to last days after the Thanksgiving meal, Auguste said.

Pointing to her laptop screen, Auguste smiled as she clicked refresh on her Google response form, where people donating can choose what dish they want to cook. Every year, Auguste said, she looks forward to managing the spreadsheet and crossing dishes off her list.

"You see, we already have ... let me refresh this page. We have 50 responses so far!" Auguste said. "That's why I don't want any praise. It's not about us. It's what we're doing for the community."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Food banks, pantries gather donations ahead of Thanksgiving