No Plate Left Empty This Thanksgiving: How Bakersfield Organizations Are Fighting Holiday Hunger

Shortly before Thanksgiving weekend, three major organizations in Kern County ramped up efforts to distribute turkeys, food boxes, and meals to hundreds of families facing food insecurity during the holiday season.

By Cecil Egbele | California Local News Fellow

Golden Empire Gleaners, the Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK), and Catholic Charities Bakersfield each conducted food distributions in the days leading up to the holiday. They reported an increased demand for food relief due to the rising cost of groceries.

A Surge Before the Holiday

Nonprofits say what used to be a seasonal need has now become a year-round demand. Inflation and job insecurity have pushed more families, seniors, and students to seek help this November, many for the first time.

At Golden Empire Gleaners, volunteers spent the week preparing turkey packages and “Senior Sack” food bags. The organization, based on 30th Street, partnered this year with the newly opened Hard Rock Tejon Casino.

“We’ve been donating team member turkeys over the last few days, 1,100 turkeys to our workforce,” said Chris Kelly, president of the Hard Rock Casino Tejon. “It’s an opportunity for us to say thank you. It’s an opportunity for us to help those who might need a helping hand, and we couldn’t be happier to be here in this moment. We are very, very proud.”

CAPK, the largest food and social services provider in Kern County, held multiple emergency distribution events this week through its food bank and partners. Earlier, it had received a $100,000 donation from the Ravi and Naina Patel Foundation which had helped it expand its services and reach more households. CAPK distributed food packages to over 200 families.

“There was a slight increase in the number of people who attended the distribution. But that could be due to a couple of things, like the shutdown and more people gaining access to the food bank. We had a lot of first-timers or those who didn’t know that they could just come to the food bank and get food when they needed. So there was that increase. We also promoted it on social media as well,” said Tiyonna Michelle, CAPK Outreach and Communications Supervisor.

Across town, Catholic Charities Bakersfield, which operates on Chester Avenue, had their Annual Thanksgiving Distribution where they supplied families with turkeys and bags of food ahead of the holiday. Their pantry typically serves several hundred families per month, but demand has reportedly spiked before Thanksgiving. The successful event was also made possible after their first Turkey Drive in the city.

“Last year we gave out almost 700 turkeys and bags of food, and this year we gave out 1,045 turkeys and bags of food. We were able to offer more this year because we had so many donations from the community and the local parishes. And then we also hosted a turkey drive for the first time this year that a lot of people, donated items and donated money to,” said Beatrice Trevino, Site Director, Catholic Charities.

What stood out at every location this week was the presence of volunteers, students, retirees, and church members. Some volunteers said they recognized families from previous years; others met people who quietly admitted they had never visited a food pantry before.

These efforts are not one-time events. CAPK, Gleaners, and Catholic Charities all operate year-round food programs and say that though Thanksgiving passes, the needs of the people do not.

“We just want everyone to know that the food bank is open for people to come and get food as they need. We know that times are hard. And so, you know, if you are short during the month, you can visit our food bank or any of our food pantries, commodity partners,” said Michelle

Their hope, they say, is that community generosity continues beyond the holiday spirit and that every table across Kern County has something on it, even when the season ends.

Cecil Egbele

Cecil Egbele is a Bakersfield reporter with the Observer Group of Newspapers Southern California and a California Local News Fellow. She has experience across multimedia platforms, including investigative reporting with Bloomberg News, TV broadcasting with Nigeria’s national television (NTA), and local reporting with Oakland North. Cecil is also a documentary filmmaker skilled in video and photojournalism, with a passion for amplifying underrepresented voices. In Bakersfield, she reports on the Black community. Got a story or an idea? Reach her at cecil.egbele@ognsc.com.

Cecil Egbele is a California Local News Fellow.

Cecil Egbele

Cecil Egbele is a California Local News Fellow.