Our America Foundation is joining Tompkins Family Chiropractic to recruit volunteers and raise funds for the 2026 Thanksgiving food drive in Marana, Arizona, with the goal of making it the most successful one yet. For just $25, a donor can provide a family in need with a large box of food and a whole frozen turkey.
Thanksgiving is a time when we gather with family and friends to celebrate our blessings and share a big meal with all the trimmings. But with the cost of living continuing to rise, many families are struggling just to make ends meet, and putting a Thanksgiving dinner on the table can be a real challenge.
Dr. Emil Tompkins has spent more than 20 years helping those families in Marana. Working with select schools in the Marana School District, teachers and staff discreetly identify families who could use a helping hand, and the food is distributed privately and respectfully so that families receive assistance with dignity.
What makes the drive special is its simplicity. Every penny donated goes toward food for families, with no administrative costs taken out of donations. Dedicated volunteers sort donated canned goods, purchase additional food, and help coordinate distribution. On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, they arrive with trucks and trailers to load the food boxes, collect pallets of frozen turkeys, and deliver everything to the designated schools. It is a community effort built on generosity, hard work, and the belief that neighbors should help neighbors.
It also offers a useful contrast with how large federal programs work. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) supports the purchase of food as well as its storage and distribution through state and local organizations. According to the figures cited for fiscal year 2024, the USDA allocated $461.5 million for food purchases and $80 million for administrative costs, roughly 17.3% of the food budget, before counting any additional costs borne by state and local partners.
The Philanthropy Roundtable argues that government agencies have little incentive to change how they operate, while private giving stays more flexible and closer to the people it serves. It also notes 71 studies comparing public and private providers of the same service, in which the private provider was more cost-effective in 56.
Private giving is no cure-all, and large charities run by outsiders can have waste. That is what makes a drive like this one worth backing. It is rooted in one community, teachers know which families need help, and because volunteers handle the sorting, hauling, and coordinating, donated dollars go straight to food.
A $25 gift can bring the warmth and joy of Thanksgiving into the home of a family facing financial hardship. Please donate, volunteer, or help spread the word, and together we can give more families in Marana a reason to be thankful this year.
Donate today at: https://www.tompkinschiropractic.com/thanksgiving/
