One in seven people struggle with food insecurity and that's why Gallatin Valley Food Bank is giving out free Thanksgiving meals to assist people that need a little extra help this holiday season.
“Thanksgiving is a big time of year, isn't it? And so for a lot of people, it's very difficult to afford that meal," says HRDC Food Nutrition Director Jill Holder. "And so we are able to provide a full—like, all the groceries for Thanksgiving—holiday meal.”
HRDC's Gallatin Valley Food Bank is planning to distribute 1,000 Thanksgiving dinners. They had a distribution in Belgrade and Bozeman on Sunday, but they are still planning on handing out hundreds more until Thanksgiving.
“Six hundred is how many we have given out and I'll probably give out more in the next couple days right here,” says Holder.
The food bank isn't the only place doing a free Thanksgiving meal. Bozeman Real Estate Group is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at Bourbon.
“It has become my favorite Thanksgiving tradition and the best part of Thanksgiving is, is getting an option to go out and meet a huge cross-segment of the community,” says Bozeman Real Estate Group Owner, Andrew Hurlburt.
Hurlburt says the company has been serving Thanksgiving dinner since the company started five years ago.
“We typically have between 20 and 25 members of Bozeman Real Estate Group that will be coming out to help serve and clean and cook,” says Hurlburt.
He says since the Fork and Spoon is not hosting a dinner this year, he expects a bigger turnout.
"We expect to host anywhere from 350 to 400 plus people,” says Hurlburt.
If you plan on going to Bourbon to attend the Bozeman Real Estate Group's Thanksgiving, you can keep an eye out for Hurlburt in his turkey hat.
“I cook, I'll be in there early and I'll be cooking like crazy and I'll be the guy in the turkey hat, running around and bringing piles of food out to everybody,” says Hurlburt.
You can also join Taco Montes on Thanksgiving for their 7th annual free meal starting at noon until they run out of food.
