5 Ways You Can Give Back This GivingTuesday

In this season of giving, it feels good to do good.

November 29, 2021

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Photo by: fstop123/Getty

fstop123/Getty

In case you don’t already have it circled on your calendar, take note: GivingTuesday is coming up on Tuesday, November 30, 2021.

Begun in 2012 as a counter to Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the shopping fever that grips us during the holiday season, GivingTuesday encourages us to give back to our communities, whether through charitable donations, volunteering or an act of kindness or generosity for someone else.

Last year on GivingTuesday, about 34.8 million people took the opportunity to donate a total of $2.47 billion to U.S. nonprofits. Countless others performed other, less quantifiable acts of generosity.

No doubt, just nine years after it has launched, GivingTuesday has grown into what its organizers call “a global generosity movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world.”

Of course, that big movement is made up of individual decisions to do or give something — big or small — to help others. If you’re eager to participate, here are four ways you can give back and make a difference this GivingTuesday.

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Photo by: FilippoBacci/Getty

FilippoBacci/Getty

Help Feed Someone in Need

Many of us may feel like we’re in a different place than we were last year, but for the more than 38 million people, including 12 million children, in the United States experiencing food insecurity or a lack of access to nutritious food, the challenges brought by the pandemic are far from over.

In the midst of this need, many food banks are struggling: They’ve had to ramp back help and reduce portion sizes due to staffing and volunteer shortages and inflation affecting the cost of food staples such as meat, chicken, dairy and eggs.

This GivingTuesday, consider donating to your local food bank. While food donations are appreciated, the Wall Street Journal reports that food banks may actually prefer money donations, as they can purchase food for those in need without having to “sort, organize and repack [food donations] with a diminished staff.” (You can browse food banks, pantries and distribution organizations and check their ratings on CharityNavigator.)

That said, donating your time and effort are also helpful: You can volunteer at a local food bank, pantry or soup kitchen. Not sure where to start? Feeding America has a Find a Food Bank tool that allows you to search by zip code or your state of residence.

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Photo by: Oscar Wong/Getty

Oscar Wong/Getty

Grocery Shop for Good

This year there’s yet another way to give food banks a boost. Instacart has launched a GivingTuesday initiative that helps you support nonprofits working to alleviate food insecurity, every time you shop for groceries using the platform.

Between November 30 and December 7, whenever you place an Instacart order, you can select a national or local nonprofit and have one meal donated to the organization on your behalf — at no additional cost to you. (You can make direct a donation every time you place an order; there’s no limit to how many meals you can donate during the week.)

All you need to do is open the Instacart app, click the GivingTuesday banner and select an organization to support. You can choose from among international, national and local nonprofits, including Feeding America and Second Harvest Canada, as well local charities focused on relieving hunger and food insecurity.

Many of the local organizations work to fight hunger and food insecurity in specific communities, including veterans, seniors, children, LGBTQ+, immigrants and refugees, so you can target your generosity to where you most want to make an impact.

Package delivered contactless during Corona time

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Package delivered contactless during Corona time

Photo by: Michele Pevide/Getty

Michele Pevide/Getty

Patronize Your Favorite Restaurant

While many of us are again eating in — or outside — restaurants, the food service industry is still recovering from the effects of the pandemic. Even if you’re not yet comfortable dining in, you can show your support for your favorite local spots by ordering a meal for takeout, delivery or curbside pickup. If you can, order directly from the restaurant itself — this will eliminate the fees third-party delivery services often charge a restaurant to deliver its food.

And don’t forget to tip your server or delivery worker — generously. Between 15 and 20 percent of your delivery order total is a generally good tipping rule of thumb. But no one ever said you couldn’t give more, especially a day dedicated to generosity.

Other ways to help your local eateries include buying gift cards, restaurant merch, or picking up provisions to integrate into your meals at home. Or you can donate to the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Employee Relief Fund (RERF), which is working to help more than 43,000 restaurant workers who suffered financially due to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis.

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Photo by: Gen Corte / EyeEm/Getty

Gen Corte / EyeEm/Getty

Order Groceries from Local Markets, Farmers and Food Distributors

Due to recent supply chain issues, the shelves at the grocery store can sometimes get pretty bare. In response to the scarcity, restaurants, farmers’ markets and farms have taken it upon themselves to sell their produce, meat and dry goods online to consumers. If you’re looking to support local businesses this GivingTuesday, give those businesses in your area a call and see if they have groceries available for delivery or curbside pickup.

Your favorite food distributors have also jumped in to sell directly to consumers goods that would normally be shipped to restaurants. For instance, meat purveyor Pat LaFrieda now offers nationwide shipping on its famous beef, pork, veal, lamb and poultry, and you can have a number of high-quality meat boxes shipped directly to your front door from Heritage Foods.

COVID-19, Young women delivers fresh food to senior man during pandemic lock-down. Senior man picking up the box of fresh produce off the porch while woman is greeting with the peace sign from the distance. Urban setting of a North American city.

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COVID-19, Young women delivers fresh food to senior man during pandemic lock-down. Senior man picking up the box of fresh produce off the porch while woman is greeting with the peace sign from the distance. Urban setting of a North American city.

Photo by: Steven S. Miric/Getty

Steven S. Miric/Getty

Brighten Someone’s Day

Sometimes the most meaningful help is the simplest. Make GivingTuesday the day you bring cookies to a neighbor who may be feeling lonely; offer to grocery shop or run errands for someone you know who may have difficulty doing so for themselves; pay for the next person in line at the coffee shop; leave a basket of snacks for your mail carrier or sanitation worker; pop some produce into your community fridge; make an extra lunch, while you’re packing your own, to give to someone in need.

There are so many ways to brighten someone’s day and make a positive impact this GivingTuesday — or any day.

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