Food & Friends preparing thousands of Thanksgiving meals for people with serious illnesses

WASHINGTON — Thanksgiving is two weeks away, and the group Food & Friends is working to make sure hundreds of families dealing with life-changing illnesses get to celebrate.

For years, the organization has delivered daily medically-tailored meals to people with serious diagnoses, like cancer, kidney failure, or HIV/AIDS.

On Thanksgiving, they give their approximately 900 clients an extra special treat with a full Thanksgiving meal prepared by Wegman's. It includes a whole turkey, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, pie, and more.

Each packed meal can feed 5 people, so they estimate providing 4,500 meals that day.

More than 300 volunteers take part in the well-oiled machine on Turkey Day as they pack up all the components early in the morning for deliveries throughout the District.

As the group prepares for the big day, they simultaneously continue to provide daily meals to their clients.

Right now, the group is also hosting the annual Slice of Life pie sale, where you can either purchase a Whisked pie for your family -- which funds a full day of medically-tailored meals for a client -- or you can donate a Thanksgiving pie.

The fundraiser has a goal of 6,000 pies purchased and runs through Tuesday, November 19.

If you want to volunteer in the future, you can find out more information about how to do that here.