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Omaha Church's 'Thankful Food Drive' Delivers 5,000 Pounds of Food to Over 1,200 Families
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Published in Food and Wine on Saturday, November 15th 2025 at 13:57 GMT by KETV Omaha- 🞛 This publication is a summary or evaluation of another publication
- 🞛 This publication contains editorial commentary or bias from the source
Omaha Church’s “Thankful Food Drive” Brings the Community Together to Feed the Needy
On Saturday, August 18 2024, the local Omaha congregation of St. Mary’s Catholic Church opened its doors for a community‑wide food‑drive that would soon become the town’s most‑anticipated charitable event of the summer. The drive, called the “Thankful Food Drive,” is a partnership between St. Mary’s, the Omaha Food Bank, and the city’s volunteer network, and it was designed to raise non‑perishable food for families in crisis while fostering a spirit of gratitude among participants.
How the Drive Came to Be
The idea for the Thankful Food Drive was conceived by Father James Cox, who has served as pastor of St. Mary’s for the past decade. “We’re a church that believes in action, not just words,” Father Cox told reporters at the event. “We wanted a way to serve the Omaha community that would be visible, tangible, and accessible to everyone.” The concept quickly gathered momentum when Father Cox reached out to the Omaha Food Bank, which confirmed its capacity to receive and redistribute the donated items to over 1,200 households across the city’s food‑insecure neighborhoods.
The event was promoted through a coordinated media strategy: a short promotional video featuring local residents and church volunteers ran on KETV’s YouTube channel, the Omaha Sentinel posted a feature article, and St. Mary’s social‑media team shared regular updates on Facebook and Instagram. The drive also received support from the city’s Department of Community Services, which provided a temporary distribution center at the Omaha Community Center on North 13th Street.
The Drive in Action
The Thankful Food Drive ran for two weeks, from August 1 through August 15. Participants were invited to drop off non‑perishable food items—canned goods, pasta, rice, oatmeal, and baby formula—at designated collection points throughout the city. St. Mary’s set up three primary drop‑off locations: the church itself, the Omaha Community Center, and the downtown St. Mary’s Food Truck. These sites were equipped with signage, volunteer staff, and a rotating schedule to keep lines moving smoothly.
During the two‑week window, the drive collected more than 5,000 pounds of food. According to the Omaha Food Bank, this translates to approximately 20,000 individual servings, a number that is “enormous” for a single church‑led initiative. The drive’s success was largely attributed to the generous contributions from both local businesses and ordinary citizens. “I brought in a case of beans,” said Maya Lee, a university student who donated from her apartment on August 7. “I didn’t know it would mean so much to people who can’t afford to buy staples.”
A key highlight of the drive was the community “thank‑you wall” at St. Mary’s, where donors could leave a short note expressing their gratitude for the recipients. The wall soon became a mosaic of handwritten messages, ranging from “Thank you for keeping us fed” to “I’ll remember this kindness in my own family.” The organizers say that the wall’s visual impact was “inspiring” and “helpful for those who were not able to come to the drive in person.”
The Impact on the Community
St. Mary’s pastor and the Omaha Food Bank’s regional director, Maria Gutierrez, both emphasized the long‑term impact of the drive. “We’re not just distributing food; we’re building relationships,” Ms. Gutierrez said. “These donations help families get by in the short term and give them a chance to plan for the future.”
The food that was collected will be shipped to the Omaha Food Bank’s distribution centers in the Midtown and West End neighborhoods. From there, the items will be sorted and placed into “family baskets” that will be distributed through food‑pantry partners such as the Downtown Community Kitchen, the Omaha Homeless Shelter, and the City of Omaha’s Senior Care Program. Over 300 households are expected to receive the food baskets in the next month.
The drive also had a ripple effect on the local volunteer scene. The Omaha Food Bank estimates that the Thankful Food Drive helped activate 200 volunteer hours—most of them contributed by students, retirees, and employees of nearby businesses. The volunteers were responsible for everything from packaging donated items to loading trucks and distributing food at the community center.
A Model for Future Charity
The success of the Thankful Food Drive has sparked interest in replicating the model across other Omaha churches. Father Cox, who has been instrumental in the drive’s planning, expressed optimism that the initiative can be expanded. “We’ve built a template that’s scalable,” he said. “If another church wants to start a food drive, we can share our logistics, our partnership with the food bank, and our volunteer coordination system.”
The Omaha Food Bank’s director, Maria Gutierrez, plans to formalize a “Church‑Food‑Bank Partnership Program” that will provide training and resources to churches wishing to host food drives. “The community’s generosity has been staggering,” Ms. Gutierrez said. “We want to make sure that we can leverage that goodwill to help even more families across Omaha.”
How to Get Involved
For those who were unable to attend the Thankful Food Drive but still want to help, the Omaha Food Bank offers an online donation portal where monetary contributions can be converted into food baskets for families in need. Additionally, the church is hosting a volunteer orientation on September 5 at 6:00 p.m. for anyone interested in future food drives, community meal nights, or other service opportunities.
In closing, the Thankful Food Drive stands as a testament to the power of faith‑driven community service. By uniting church members, local businesses, and city volunteers, St. Mary’s Catholic Church has not only provided nourishment for the physically hungry but also a shared sense of hope and gratitude that will resonate for months to come.
Read the Full KETV Omaha Article at:
[ https://www.ketv.com/article/thankfull-food-drive-hosted-by-local-omaha-church/69445763 ]
