2024 Enactus RGV Thanksgiving Food Drive, Cansgiving

Our annual Thanksgiving food drive called Cansgiving, which targets the 2nd UN sustainable development goal; Zero hunger.

As a way to obtain an initial needs assessment and to form a bond with our community, in 2015 we began our first thanksgiving food drive, where we collected enough food to feed 25 families a fully sorted thanksgiving dinner. In 2016 we challenged ourselves to upscale this project by partnering with our newly formed School of Medicine, and we reached a goal of providing 180 low-income families in our region with full turkey dinners.

In 2018 with the collaboration of the entire college of business, we were able to provide 120 fully sorted thanksgiving dinners in 6 different impoverished areas across the RGV. The number of families increased to 220 in 2019. In 2020, that number increased again to 410. 2021 was our biggest year yet, with over 1,600 families reached in the RGV.

And finally, last year in November 2022 our team was able to reach 1,000 families across the RGV. This year, we plan to reach even more!

On average, the cost of a Thanksgiving meal for a family of 6 is $30 dollars. That makes a direct impact of $12,300 dollars. While we recognize that Cans giving does not have a sustainable economic impact, it is the perfect way for our members to learn firsthand about our community’s needs and develop meaningful relationships with those whom we serve.

Who Receives these meals?

The families who receive these meals are selected through a collaboration with community centers and ISDs around the RGV.

Your involvement and sponsorship will allow us to continue to scale up this project. Any donation will be greatly appreciated and will get us closer to achieving our objectives.

If you have any questions, or wish to have further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We would also like to invite you to like us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (Enactus at UTRGV).

Respectfully,

ENACTUS TEAM

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley