Every year, our big holiday meal outreaches are some of our most popular volunteer opportunities. On Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and the Saturday before Easter we deliver thousands of free meals to people in need all around the Des Moines area . . . and we also serve a free holiday meal at our Hope Cafe.
And we definitely couldn’t pull off these special events without amazing volunteers! But volunteering isn’t the only way to help out this holiday season. Scroll for details about food donations and Christmas gift bags, too!
Online registration for Thanksgiving 2026 is open now! Read on for instructions . . .
Register to Volunteer for Thanksgiving
UPDATE: All our openings for meal delivery driver teams are now full. Thanks to everyone who signed up! We still have openings for onsite meal packaging, both at our Hope Cafe location and at our satellite location (The Mission Church).
Thanksgiving volunteer registration is open now! Timeframes vary by role, but most take place in the morning. Volunteer opportunities include:
- Thanksgiving Meal Packaging + Serving (Thursday, Nov. 26)—help us assemble and package thousands of meals to be delivered around Des Moines, plus serve the onsite meal at Hope Cafe.
Please note: Onsite volunteers must be 13 or older.
How to Register:
If this is your first time volunteering for a holiday meal outreach: Your first step is to fill out this application. It will ask for your basic info and it has a spot where you can indicate which specific volunteer roles you’re interested in (packaging meals, washing dishes, etc.) Later, you’ll receive an email confirming your placement.
If you’ve volunteered for a past holiday meal outreach: You can skip the application by using the credentials you received recently for our new volunteer platform (Mission Tracker). Use the provided username and password to log onto the new site and sign up for an open position
Thanksgiving Food Donation Day
It takes a lot of food to serve and deliver 4,000+ meals on Thanksgiving. Plus, we serve 650+ meals every day of the year!
You can help out by donating some of our most-needed items during our annual Food Donation Day on the day before Thanksgiving—Wednesday, November 25, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Hope Ministries Bethel Mission (1310 6th Avenue in Des Moines).
Here are our most-needed items:
- Holiday hams*
- Salted butter
- Shredded cheddar cheese and grated parmesan cheese
- Drink mixes (bulk size) – ex: Country Time Lemonade
- Ranch dressing
- Creamer (dry)
- Quart-size Ziploc baggies
- Napkins
*Ideally, boneless pit or carving hams work best for us.
Christmas Eve Volunteer Registration
After Thanksgiving winds down, we’re going to turn around and do it all again on the morning of Christmas Eve—serving and delivering thousands of ham dinners to our neighbors in need.
Please note: This meal outreach is happening on Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day. Shift times vary for different volunteer roles, but they’re all during the morning/daytime—so you’ll still be able to make it to late afternoon or evening Christmas Eve services!
We’re looking for volunteers for:
- Onsite Packaging + Serving (Thursday, Dec. 24)—help us assemble and package thousands of meals to be delivered around Des Moines, plus serve the onsite meal at Hope Cafe.
- Meal Delivery Drivers (Thursday, Dec. 24)—deliver meals around the Des Moines area. We’ll provide a list of addresses in advance so you can plan your route. You just need your own GPS and a vehicle large enough to hold around 20-25 paper sacks.
Onsite volunteers must be 13 or older. If you’re a family or group with younger children, please consider serving as a meal delivery driver team.
Christmas Eve volunteer registration opens on Monday, November 9. Come back here on that day to get signed up!
Christmas Gift Bags
At Hope Ministries we want each person to feel valued and loved! You can make this holiday season special for the individuals and families in our care by providing one or more Christmas bags filled with personal and practical gifts.
We’ll provide a gift list (estimated $35-50) and you do the shopping! You can also include a personal note.