'Families are having a hard time:' Annual Super Feast event in need of donations, volunteers

HOUSTON - With many Americans feeling the pinch at the grocery store, some have decided to scale down this holiday season or seek help. 

The annual Super Feast, the nation’s largest feeding and turkey distribution event held on Thanksgiving, is needing help. 

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Organizers with City Wide Clubs tell FOX 26, they expect to serve around 20,000 Houstonians.

"I think this year, more than ever, families are having a hard time," says Nicole Lopez with City Wide Clubs.

"Turkeys have gone up 4x [in price], there’s the avian bird flu that has wiped out a significant number of poultry farms, and you have the rising cost of vegetables. Everything is more expensive."

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The most recent Consumer Price Index published on Nov. 10 by the Department of Labor shows that the food-at-home index rose 12.4% over the last 12 months. The index for cereals and bakery products increased 15.9% over the year, and the index for dairy and related products rose 15.5%.

Nicole Lopez with the organizing group says with Thanksgiving around the corner, they’re still in need of donations and volunteers. They will be serving meals at the George R. Brown Convention Center and providing grab-and-go baskets. 

"The donations are extremely needed this time of year with job loss, food insecurities. We really need the city of Houston to wrap their arms around us," says Lopez. "We need about 10,000 turkeys to put this event on and right now, we have about 2,500, we still need 7,500 turkeys."

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Organizers are also hosting a big event this coming Monday they are hoping will help. 

"This coming Monday on the 21st, we are going to have our Super Turkey Food Drive at GRB starting at 7 a.m.," says Lopez. "We will run all day long and that’s a great opportunity for you to give back, drop off your turkeys, ham, and chicken. We will take it all."

Lopez also says they are looking for 3,500 more volunteers to register for The Super Feast. To donate or volunteer, click here.