All Faiths Food Bank aims to distribute 14,500 turkey dinners across Sarasota and DeSoto counties in November through its annual ThankFULL fundraising campaign.

The Sarasota-based food bank, a member of the Feeding America network, announced the campaign Oct. 16. Continued donations through December are expected to help provide 4.1 million holiday meals, according to Scene Sarasota.

The need is steep. An estimated 220,000 people in the region face hunger, and about 43% of Sarasota County students rely on free and reduced-cost school meals, the food bank said in its campaign announcement. United Way's most recent ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) report found that a family of four in Sarasota now needs nearly $109,000 a year to cover basics like housing, childcare, food, health care and transportation. The median household income in Sarasota County is $83,000.

More than 83,000 people turned to All Faiths Food Bank for help in 2025, according to a guest column by President and CEO Nelle Miller published in SRQ Magazine. An additional 137,000 residents are at risk. The food bank and its partners provided roughly 18.7 million meals that year, including 5.8 million pounds of fresh produce.

"When neighbors care for neighbors, we strengthen not only the people who need a helping hand, but the entire community we share," Miller said in the campaign announcement.

Miller wrote in the SRQ column that changes to government assistance programs, including SNAP and Medicaid, are straining families who depend on those resources.

In a September interview with WWSB, Miller said rising costs affect both the families seeking help and the food bank trying to serve them. "Day to day, people are struggling, and we need to provide more and more food," she said at the time.

The Kathleen K. Catlin Foundation of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County has supported the ThankFULL campaign for 12 years.

Three Sarasota turkey distributions are scheduled for November:

  • Nov. 10 — Church of the Palms, 9–10:30 a.m. (veterans pantry distribution)
  • Nov. 14 — Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 9–11 a.m.
  • Nov. 18 — Ed Smith Stadium, 4–6 p.m.

Additional distributions will take place at Englewood Sports Complex on Nov. 11 (5–7 p.m.), Venice Middle School on Nov. 12 (5–6:30 p.m.), First Baptist Church of Ft. Ogden in Arcadia on Nov. 17 (10–11:30 a.m.) and South Florida State College in Arcadia on Nov. 24 (4:30–6 p.m.).

Holiday meals will also go out through the food bank's mobile pantries and agency partners. Distribution details are available at allfaithsfoodbank.org, and donations to the ThankFULL campaign can be made at allfaithsfoodbank.org/thankfull.