By teaming up with the Austin Apartment Association, the housing authority has addressed this issue for 18 years. This year 750 HACA resident families who would otherwise be unable to enjoy a full Thanksgiving meal have been donated dinners through the apartment association’s annual Thanksgiving Food Drive.

“The receiving families are recognized by staff and management as being in most need,” says Family Self-Sufficiency Specialist Mary Gonzales. “We target single mothers not on food stamps because they struggle more. People on food stamps are taken care of, while the others don’t know what they will do for the holiday.”

Valued at approximately $30 per meal, the food packs not only contain a turkey and all items necessary to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but they also include enough food staples such as sugar, flour, oranges, beans and rice to feed a family of five for five days. The number of dinner donations to the housing authority’s residents almost doubled from 385 last year.

“It’s been a wonderful program for our residents,” Gonzales said. “They get so excited around this time of year because of the generosity of the apartment association. The organization does a great job of labeling this as the season of giving.”