TOLEDO — With Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, United Way of Greater Toledo is asking for a hand — 170 of them, to be exact. The nonprofit needs more than 170 volunteers to help build 500 holiday meal boxes for local families as part of its fifth annual United for the Holidays campaign, and shifts are still open through Monday, Nov. 16.

The boxes go to families across Lucas, Wood, and Ottawa counties, where 40 percent of hardworking families are at risk of not having enough to eat. Each box holds about two weeks’ worth of food — and this year, putting one together costs about $10, with grocery prices still climbing. Ground beef alone is up nearly 22 percent in a year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by United Way.

It is a coordinated community effort. Volunteers will pack boxes alongside the Islamic Food Bank, Grace Community Center, BCS Food Pantry, and the Brown Bag Food Project, the Rossford Record Journal reported. Last year, the campaign packed 710 Thanksgiving food boxes and 1,000 weekender food bags for families across the three counties.

The need is easy to see in the numbers: food prices have stretched household budgets thin all year, and the holidays are the hardest stretch. A box on a family’s table is not just groceries — it is one less impossible choice between food and bills in a week when both come due.

Anyone who wants to help can sign up for a packing shift through United Way of Greater Toledo. Shifts are available through Monday, Nov. 16, and no experience is needed — just a few hours and a willingness to show up. People who cannot volunteer can also give: the campaign’s fundraiser toolkit notes that every $10 covers one more box.

Toledo is already in the giving spirit. The University of Toledo kicked off its own holiday giving season this week with a toy drive, a hygiene-kit drive, and an Angel Tree project for local families — read how to help there, too. But the meal boxes are the most urgent ask on the calendar: the packing shifts end Monday, and 500 families are counting on them.

Sources: Rossford Record Journal; United Way of Greater Toledo; WTOL 11.

Volunteers pack boxes of food for families in need — U.S. Department of Defense photo via Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Illustrative photo, not a Toledo packing session.