Fall Food Drive, Nov 1–30. Host a bin
Donate
A mother and her daughter lower a full orange tote of Thanksgiving groceries into a collection box at a café
Feed Tahoe $20

about $20 fills one

The 2nd annual FeedTahoe Fall Food Drive

Let's fill 500 bags, Tahoe.

Kings Meats is donating 500 turkeys. You fill the tote bags with the sides. Every full bag plus a turkey becomes a Thanksgiving dinner for a neighbor, through local pantries, shelters and schools.

Host a binVolunteerGive $20

Bins go live in

32 days

Nov 1 · mark it down!

Live from the bins

The Tracker.

Every bag that comes back full is counted here, bin by bin, all month long. 500 bags means 500 Thanksgiving dinners.

Demo datalive Nov 1

what it'll look like on day 18

310 +

bags filled of 500

190 to go!

Next up: bag #313. Could be yours →

  • 310 +

    bags filled

    of 500

  • 310 +

    turkeys matched

    from Kings Meats

  • 30 +

    collection sites live

    goal: 40–50

  • 3,400 +

    lbs collected

    bags + loose cans

Bags by day Nov 1–30
500 · the goal pace to Nov 23 turkeys goout ~Nov 20 day 18: 310+ Nov 18152230 0250500
Bags filled per day (demo data)
DayBags that dayRunning total
Nov 166
Nov 2915
Nov 31126
Nov 41238
Nov 51452
Nov 62072
Nov 72496
Nov 813109
Nov 915124
Nov 1016140
Nov 1117157
Nov 1219176
Nov 1326202
Nov 1431233
Nov 1517250
Nov 1618268
Nov 1721289
Nov 1823312

Demo feed

Latest pickups

Bins text Dispatch (530-539-1719). A volunteer grabs the bags.

  1. 2 bags from Bagel shop, BijouBijou
  2. 2 bags from Community church, Al TahoeAl Tahoe
  3. 5 bags from A café on Ski RunBijou
  4. 4 bags from Community church, Al TahoeAl Tahoe
  5. 5 bags from Community church, Al TahoeAl Tahoe
  6. 5 bags from Dental office, Al TahoeAl Tahoe

*** thank you, Tahoe ***

Top bins

friendly competition, strictly for bragging rights

  1. 1 Community church, Al TahoeAl Tahoe 26+ bags
  2. 2 Hardware store, BijouBijou 21+ bags
  3. 3 Middle school, Sierra TractThe Y & Sierra Tract 21+ bags
  4. 4 Bakery near the YThe Y & Sierra Tract 20+ bags
  5. 5 Gym on KingsburyKingsbury 20+ bags
?Your bin here?Host one and get on the board.

Demo data: names and numbers are made up to show how the tracker works. It goes live on Nov 1. As of Nov 18, 3:40 PM (demo).

Collection sites

Find a bin. Or be one.

We're aiming for 40–50 bins in cafés, shops, offices, schools and churches from Meyers to Zephyr Cove. Grab a tote at any of them, and bring it back full.

Tap a pin

Each pin is a bin. Dashed circles are open spots.

Shop a bag

Grab. Fill. Drop.

The easiest way in: one tote, one trip to the store, about $20. Every bag you bring back becomes a Thanksgiving dinner with a Kings Meats turkey.

  1. Grab a tote

    Pick one up at any collection bin. The shopping list is stapled right on it.

    free, and yours to fill

  2. Fill it (about $20)

    Shop the list at your usual store. Store brands are perfect.

    roughly one grocery run

  3. Drop it back

    Return the full bag to the bin. The business texts Dispatch and a volunteer picks it up.

    then: a turkey joins it

FeedTahoe Fall Food Drive · November 1–30, 2026

Fill a tote (about $20)

Shopping list: tick items off as you shop

0 of 9 in the carthappy shopping!

P.S. Got a little extra? Pantries always need more canned meats, pasta & pasta sauce, peanut butter, rice and dry beans.

Bring your full tote back to any FeedTahoe collection bin by Nov 23. Questions: donatefood@marcellafoundation.org · Dispatch 530-539-1719

Every full bag becomes dinner.

Around Nov 20, each bag is matched with a Kings Meats turkey and goes out through 15+ local partners: pantries, shelters, schools and senior homes.

Find a bin near you Rather not shop? Give $20 →

Businesses, schools & churches

Host a collection bin.

Give your customers, students or congregation an easy way to feed a neighbor this Thanksgiving. We bring everything. You give it a corner.

What you get

  • 40-gallon collection binA sturdy cardboard bin with signage.
  • 10–30 FeedTahoe totesEach with the shopping list stapled on.
  • Flyers + a social toolkitTo tell your people you’re a drop-off site.
  • A “donor club” window clingSo everyone knows you’re part of it.
Two volunteers in orange fleeces load boxes of filled tote bags into a car on a snowy morning

we pick up the full bags

  1. Week of Oct 26: your kit arrives.
  2. Nov 1–30: shoppers grab a tote, fill it, drop it back.
  3. Bags piling up? Text Dispatch at 530-539-1719 and a volunteer picks them up.

Sign up to host

Takes about 3 minutes. No cost, no commitment beyond a corner and a text when it's full.

That didn’t go through. Please try again, or email donatefood@marcellafoundation.org.

1Your place
What kind of place is it?

In South Lake Tahoe or close by, from Meyers to Zephyr Cove.

Roughly how many people come through?
2You
Best way to reach you?
3Your bin
How many totes should we start you with?

You can always ask for more mid-drive.

Bins go live Nov 1. Kits arrive the week of Oct 26.

Pickups

We'll only use this to set up your bin. Questions? donatefood@marcellafoundation.org

Volunteer for the drive

Lend a hand (or a hatchback).

The drive runs on neighbors with a spare hour and a car. Pick the way that fits your November.

  • Bin pickups

    When a bin fills up, claim the pickup in the Feed Tahoe app and bring the bags in.

    Nov 1–30, whenever suits

  • Super volunteer crew

    A small team that restocks bins mid-drive with fresh totes and flyers.

    a few runs mid-drive

  • Neighborhood teams

    Look after an outlying area like Zephyr Cove or Meyers: pickups and restocks close to home.

    your own backyard

  • Turkey day crew

    Help match bags with turkeys and get them out to our partners.

    around Nov 20

Sign up in the free Feed Tahoe app.

Pickups are posted there; claim one and go. Same app our food-rescue drivers use all year.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Volunteer kickoff

Oct 22

at Cowork Tahoe

come meet the crew!

Key dates

  1. OCT 22 Volunteer kickoff at Cowork Tahoenext up!
  2. NOV 1 Drive opens, bins go livenext up!
  3. NOV ~20 Turkey distributionnext up!
  4. NOV 23 All 500 bags fillednext up!
  5. NOV 30 Drive closesnext up!

Where the bags go

A turkey, the sides, and a table.

Around Nov 20, every full bag is matched with a turkey from Kings Meats and handed to our partners: pantries, shelters, schools and senior homes. They get the dinners to families, students, veterans, seniors and neighbors who need it most.

In South Lake Tahoe, about 19% of our community faces food insecurity. This makes a holiday a little brighter.

15+ partners, including

  • Christmas Cheer All Year
  • Phoenix Food Pantry
  • Boys & Girls Club
  • Family Resource Center
  • Bread & Broth
  • Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless
  • Tahoe Senior Plaza
  • LTCC Food Pantry
  • and more
At a folding table among the pines, a volunteer hands a full orange tote to a smiling older man; frozen turkeys wait in boxes

turkey day, around Nov 20

Last November

Tahoe showed up.

6,000 +pounds of food collected

25 +partners pitched in

Thank you to everyone who donated, picked up food and handed it out. This year: 500 Thanksgiving dinners.

Questions, answered.

When is the food drive?

November 1–30, 2026, all across South Lake Tahoe. Bins go live on Nov 1, turkeys go out around Nov 20, and we're aiming to have all 500 bags filled by Nov 23.

Where do I get a tote, and where do I drop it off?

At any collection bin: they're on the map. We add 2026 locations as hosts sign up, so check back as November gets closer.

What goes in a bag?

The Thanksgiving sides on the list stapled to the tote: cornbread mix, cranberry sauce, green beans, instant mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, mac & cheese, rice, broth. It comes to about $20. See the list (you can print it, too).

Can I donate other food?

Yes. Non-perishables can go straight into a bin: canned food (vegetables, fruit, soup, beans) and dry goods (rice, pasta, grains). Our pantries always need more canned meats, pasta and pasta sauce, peanut butter, rice and dry beans.

I run a business. How can I help?

Host a collection bin and offer the totes to your customers. We bring the bin, the totes, flyers and a social toolkit; you text Dispatch at 530-539-1719 when bags pile up, and a volunteer picks them up. Have surplus food too? Text Dispatch with what you've got: packaged wholesale surplus, packaged and cooled prepared food, or unsold, unexpired food.

What does hosting a bin involve?

A corner for a 40-gallon cardboard bin, 10–30 tote bags with the shopping list stapled on, and some flyers. Kits are delivered the week of Oct 26. When bags pile up, text Dispatch and we'll come get them. You'll also get a FeedTahoe donor club window cling.

I'm an individual. How can I help?

Fill a tote, drop non-perishables in any bin, or volunteer with FeedTahoe to pick up and deliver donations. Get the app to get started.

Where does the food go?

To 15+ local nonprofit partners, including Christmas Cheer All Year, Phoenix Food Pantry, Boys & Girls Club, Family Resource Center, Bread & Broth, Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless, Tahoe Senior Plaza and LTCC Food Pantry. They get it to families, students, veterans, seniors and neighbors who need it most.

I can't donate food. How else can I help?

A gift keeps the drive moving: $20 fills a bag. Give here, or share this page with a friend who might host a bin.

Is my gift tax-deductible?

FeedTahoe is a program of The Marcella Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 87-4084202). Gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Still wondering? donatefood@marcellafoundation.org · Dispatch 530-539-1719

Give

$20 fills a bag.

Not near a bin, or short on time? Give the bag instead. Every $20 fills a tote with Thanksgiving sides, and a turkey is already waiting for it.

Prefer to shop? Grab a tote at any bin. Year-round food rescue? Give monthly.

How many bags?

3 Thanksgiving tables, sides sorted

Secure checkout through Givebutter. The Marcella Foundation is a 501(c)(3); EIN 87-4084202.