We’ve officially placed the food order for 500 Thanksgiving baskets.
Our original goal was 600, but we made the strategic decision to adjust the target. We simply were not tracking close enough to goal in donations or volunteers, and we refuse to compromise the quality of what we deliver.

Where We Stand Right Now

Food Order:
✔️ Confirmed for 500 complete baskets.
This is the phase every year where our costs begin shifting from “estimated” to “actual,” and historically that number always increases. We are already short by $2,000, and this gap will grow as final produce and perishable items get added next week.

Transportation:
✔️ Trucks have been ordered to transport all baskets to the distribution sites.

Volunteers:
✔️ 40 volunteers have signed up in some capacity.
We still need more—assembly day and delivery day require more hands than we currently have.

Engagement & Awareness Performance

Organic Content

• Total pieces of content posted: 97

• Organic likes: 332

• Organic reactions: 18

• Organic comments: 24

• Organic shares: 57

Important note:
Over 90% of those shares came from just three people. That means our broader community reach is heavily dependent on a small handful of supporters doing the heavy lifting.

Total organic engagement: 374

Paid Advertising

• Total paid conversations/engagements: 50

  • 48 individuals requesting a basket

  • 2 individuals offering to help

• Paid reactions: 38

• Paid shares: 3

• Total paid advertising spend: $118.20
  (Paid personally by leadership — not from donation funds.)

Total paid reactions + shares: 41

What This Means Moving Forward

We have momentum, visibility, and a strong start — but not enough funding yet.
We are short on both donations and volunteers, and we still have significant costs coming once produce, gift cards, and last-minute shortages hit.

This is the period where every year the budget tightens. If you’ve been planning to donate, now is the time. If you’ve been planning to volunteer, now is the time.

Donation link: Venmo @htxbasket
Every dollar is used for food. Leadership covers all other operational costs.

Volunteer registration: Visit our website for details.

We’re feeding 500 families this year.
Help us close the gap and make sure everything gets to the families who need it most.