Putting together a Thanksgiving meal for a family is a lot of work — and a lot of money.
Try feeding thousands.
That’s what some churches and nonprofits, like Waterfront Rescue Mission, are preparing for.
Waterfront has been serving free Thanksgiving meals since it was founded in 1949.
“It really has been a staple,” said Mark Isbell.
This year, with the temporary cuts to SNAP funding and rising grocery prices, the rescue mission has seen an uptick in all of its services, including daily meals in Pensacola and Mobile, said Isbell.
“Right now, as an organization, we are serving about 525 meals a day,” he said. “We are projected to serve over 200,000 meals in 2025, which is about a 30,000 increase over 2024.”
Isbell said the largest demographic growth the rescue has seen in the past 18 months is people who have a job, but are underemployed.
“That’s where we’ve seen the largest increase is people coming to us and say ‘hey, I have a job; I just can’t afford a place to live,” he added.
Between rising food costs and the increase in need, nonprofits like Waterfront are stretched thin. On a day-to-day basis, 90% of the food Waterfront serves is donated. Isbell said the community has continued to step up to meet the demand.
“We had a church reach out to us at the beginning of November when all the uncertainty was going on, and they say, ‘Hey, what do y’all need?’” Isbell recalled.
Crunching the numbers, Isbell said the rescue was looking at a $60,000 increase for November and December. The church wrote a check for $40,000.
“It’s just a huge blessing,” he said. “You know, we’re going to copy and paste and do this again on Christmas Day.”
On Thanksgiving, Waterfront will serve 1,500 meals in Pensacola alone. Most of those meals will be delivered to partner organizations such as the Council on Aging. Volunteers take over the Meals on Wheels deliveries for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“We actually deliver 1,100 meals,” said Isbell. “We’re expecting about 400 meals in the mission for lunch.”
At the mission, there will be over 100 volunteers serving the holiday meal. Those volunteer spots actually fill up quickly, but Isbell said they can use help every day of the year.
In Destin, Harbor Docks will host its 31st annual Thanksgiving feast, raising funds for Emerald Coast Food Rescue and Food for Thought, two organizations that provide food assistance.
“We’re hoping to raise funds to continue the mission of getting food to people who need it,” said Eddie Morgan, owner of Harbor Dock.
READ MORE: 'It Means Something Special': Harbor Docks' annual Thanksgiving dinner
A longtime Harbor Docks employee, “Miss Ann Jones,” had the idea for a Thanksgiving dinner.
“My father (Charles) said that yes, we would open on Thanksgiving and let her do the food, but he wanted to give away the food and raise money for charity as a way to celebrate the holiday,” said Morgan.
Since then, Morgan estimates they’ve raised more than $500,000 for charities. This year, they’re preparing to serve around 2,000 people. A line of hundreds is usually waiting before the doors open at 11 a.m. Like Waterfront, the meals are served by volunteers.
“We just unlock the doors and tell the volunteers it's their turn to play restaurant for the day,” said Morgan.
The dinner is free with the option to pay what you can. Everyone is served the same regardless. Morgan said they see a range of people walk through the doors, from unhoused individuals to people down on their luck, and those without big family plans.
Morgan recalls one regular who would order her meal to-go and leave a check for $1,000.
“They come here and still get some of the community,” he said.
The goal of serving a Thanksgiving meal is connecting with people, said Isbell.
“To show love and to share a meal and say there are people that think about you and care about you and want to know that you're seen,” he added.
The Waterfront Rescue Mission Thanksgiving meal is 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 27 at the Pensacola Mission, 348 W. Herman Ave. For volunteer opportunities, visit waterfrontmission.org/volunteer.
Harbor Docks’ Thanksgiving feast will be served from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Nov. 27, located at 538 Harbor Blvd. in Destin.
