Volunteers are the backbone of Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach. Whether it is purchasing ingredients, preparing food, serving a meal, helping at the reception desk, working in the garden, or hosting a donation drive or special event-- we appreciate your investment of time and resources and want to assist you in any way we can. Here are the latest updates:

Holiday Meal Teams Needed
We are grateful for the many volunteers who have signed up to help provide meals and hospitality to our guests on Thanksgiving. All of our volunteer spots for Thanksgiving Day are filled. However, we’re seeking groups to help provide, prepare, and serve lunch on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If your team is interested in spreading a little holiday cheer, we’d love to hear from you!

2026 Is Just Around the Corner!
As the end of the year approaches, we are working hard to create our 2026 serving calendar.
If your team would like to make any changes to your regular serving shifts or has any special shift requests, please reach out!

Volunteer Forms
Updates to our volunteer database are ongoing. If you haven’t updated your information in 2025, please click here to fill out our new forms!

Expect an Increase in the Number of Guests Joining Us for Meals
Last July, President Trump signed Public Law 119-21, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility.

SNAP is a federal food assistance program that helps provide meals to individuals and families facing hunger in our community. Through SNAP, benefits are placed on an EBT card—used like a debit card—to help households stretch their budgets and put food on the table.

The changes to SNAP eligibility began in Nebraska on October 20, 2025, and are causing many of our guests to have their benefits either reduced or taken away.

As our community faces these changes, food insecurity in Nebraska is at a historic level—approximately 1 in 10 people in Lancaster County are food insecure.

Given this, we expect more guests will come to Matt Talbot for meals and to access the Fresh Choice Pantry.
We’ll continue doing our best to keep food on hand to help offset rising costs, but we are relying more than ever on our volunteers and donors to help provide the nutritious meals our guests count on every day.

In some cases, we may need to limit the amount of food Matt Talbot supplements to meal teams.
Thank you for your support during these uncertain times, and please communicate your needs to our Nutrition Intern, Jillian, or to me.

Food in Kitchen for Use at Matt Talbot Only
Every donation of produce, pastries, meat, and dry goods is used for our Hunger Relief Program.

Food stored in the kitchen, pantry, cooler, or freezer is:

• Used for meals,

• Offered to guests through the Fresh Choice Pantry, or

• Provided to guests in the dining room for breakfast or snacks.

Volunteers and staff should not remove food from Matt Talbot without first speaking to our Kitchen Manager or me.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out directly.

Restore hope,
Victoria O’Neil
Director of Hunger Relief & Volunteerism
📧 victoria.oneil@mtko.org
📞 402-817-0623