Holiday food and gifts for Oberlin residents
Our annual holiday food distributions ensure that every Oberlin family has access to the ingredients for delicious and plentiful dinners at Thanksgiving and during December holidays, while our Holiday Helping Hands program ensures every Oberlin child can receive gifts this season.
Please carefully read this page before registering for holiday events!
Food for the holidays
This year, we are giving Oberlin families MORE CHOICE about the food they take home for Thanksgiving and December holidays! Our main giveaways this year will be held as choice pantries, allowing you to pick the ingredients you like best for holiday meals. We will still deliver prepacked food boxes to residents of JFO and Concord Manor apartments who request a delivery on the registration form.
For these special holiday distributions, the OCS choice pantry will be stocked with lots of traditional ingredients such as potatoes, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie mix.
For Thanksgiving, families will each get a turkey. For the December holidays, families will be able to choose a turkey or ham (this is part of the registration form). Tempeh will be available at both holiday pantries as a vegan option.
Ask about specific dietary needs by contacting Food Programs Coordinator London Dejarnette at london@oberlincommunityservices.org or by calling (440) 774-6579.
*All meat is distributed frozen. Check out these guidelines from the USDA on safe methods for defrosting meat.
Holiday Helping Hands (gifts!)
Winter can be a difficult time, especially when it comes to the cost of delivering presents during the holidays. Sometimes you need a helping hand!
Oberlin Community Services works to ensure an opportunity for every child in Oberlin have a great season. Every year, we match children ages 0-17 from income-eligible Oberlin families with a sponsor in the community. Sponsors purchase gifts, wrap them, and deliver them to our office for parents to pick up.
To participate, you MUST REGISTER before FRIDAY, NOV. 8, 2024.
Please note that signing up for a holiday food distribution DOES NOT automatically sign you up for Holiday Helping Hands. To receive gifts, you MUST complete and submit the separate Holiday Helping Hands registration form.
SPONSORS
You can make an Oberlin family’s holidays bright! To help, please call OCS at (440) 774-6579 at your earliest possible convenience. We will provide non-identifying information to help you select a great gift for them! There is no limit to how many kids you can sponsor.
How to Sign up
Holiday food and gift distributions are open to income-eligible residents of Oberlin, Ohio, and you must sign up in advance. The signup period opens Monday, Oct. 21 and ends Friday, Nov. 8. To sign up, we ask for your name, contact information, address, and the number of people in your household. You may also be asked to provide proof of Oberlin residency, such as a utility bill. To be eligible, your income must be 200% of poverty level or less. Please bring photo ID. If you cannot make it to our office during the distribution day, please call us in advance to set up a proxy.