Get FREE Christmas Gifts and Food in North Carolina!

Need a little Christmas help? We know firsthand how frustrating it is when you can’t provide your kiddos with a huge holiday celebration. Sometimes, financial stress can make the holidays downright stressful and depressing. We found agencies that could help with free Christmas gifts and food in North Carolina. Please click here to get Christmas help across the US! 

Get Christmas gifts and food in North Carolina!

National agencies can help you get free Christmas gifts and food in North Carolina. These agencies operate nationally, but they offer local branches around the country. You can visit your local branch to find help with free Christmas gifts and food.

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army might be able to help you with free Christmas gifts and food in North Carolina. By using the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program, you can find help that will allow your children to have a better Christmas filled with gifts and exciting new things. The program may even allow you to choose what your children get by giving them a chance to compile a wishlist they can then use for the Angel Tree.

Toys for Tots

The U.S. Marines have the Toys for Tots to give back to communities. If you want help with free Christmas toys for your kids, you might be able to get it through Toys for Tots. Low-income families can apply for the program and, if qualified, can get toys that are geared toward your child’s age and gender.

Get free Christmas gifts and food in North Carolina in your county! 

Counties often offer help to low-income families who are in need during the holiday season. You might be able to find help in your county. If you use county resources, you could get free Christmas gifts and food in North Carolina.

If you don’t see your county on the list, don’t worry! Just let us know in a comment below and we’ll add it to our list for research.

Charlotte

If you need help in the Charlotte area, you might be able to get free Christmas gifts and food. There are many programs that could help you. Depending on your needs, you might be able to have a Christmas that is fully furnished by different agencies and organizations.

Cumberland County

Residents in the Fayetteville, Hope Mills and Fort Bragg area might be able to get help with their Christmas needs. You can get free Christmas gifts and food in North Carolina when you apply and are approved for help through agencies in Cumberland County.

Guilford County

Do you live in Greensboro, Stokesdale, Jamestown or Whitsett? You could get help as a Guilford County resident! Programs from food banks, missions and other organizations could help you make your Christmas better. You might also be able to qualify for help if you live in Oak Ridge or Summerfield!

Henderson County

If you are a resident of Henderson County and live in Fletcher, Flat Rock, Mills River, or Etowah, there may be programs available to help you and your family have an amazing Christmas season. Free Christmas gifts and food in North Carolina are available for those who qualify. 

Santa Pal has been providing Christmas gifts for needy North Carolina children of Henderson County for over 85 years. Along with an application, parents must provide social security and Medicaid cards. This program helps children between the ages of 2 and 12. 

Application instructions are provided in both English and Spanish. You can pick up your application at 161 Four Seasons Blvd. Hendersonville, NC 28792 This location is open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 2 pm. You can send in an application from November 28, 2022 to December 16, 2022. If you have any questions. You can call 828-777-5751.

Lenoir

Even though Lenoir is a small county, you might still be able to get help with free gifts and food. Residents of Pink Hill, La Grange and Kinston can get help with Christmas needs. Despite the small size, Lenoir County has resources you can use to get help!

McDowell County

Residents of McDowell County who live in Marion, Old Fort, and West Marion can get help with Christmas gifts and toys in North Carolina. If you apply for and are approved for programs through various agencies in the county, you could get free food and toys to make your Christmas special! The county also offers many different Christmas and holiday-themed dinners you can go to for free!

Toy Assistance:

The Salvation Army has a Christmas assistance program in McDowell County for children age 12 and under. Typically, there is an application process, and The Salvation Army requests documentation for income and family size. Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry, Inc, or ECCCM works with the Catawba County Christmas Bureau to assist families in 

The registration for this program starts at the end of September and the appointments to verify your documents are usually booked in October. The window is pretty small and the number of appointments are limited as well. But, if you can get through the registration process, the rest is easy. 

Christmas in Clinchfield is a ministry of Clinchfield Baptist Church that provides free gifts and coats for children. It features a free toy store where parents can come and shop for gifts for their kids. Applications are accepted from the last week of October to the first week of November. 

They also partner with Samaritan’s Purse to collect shoeboxes full of toys, clothing, school supplies, and hygiene items for their Operation Christmas Child program, where they send presents to children overseas. 

Toys for Tots in the Hickory Area services the surrounding counties, including McDowell county. The organization doesn’t distribute toys directly to the children, but they work closely with partners and organizations within the different counties to get presents to children in need. 

For McDowell County, Toys for Tots helps to sponsor the Project Christmas program. 

Project Christmas is a school-based program in McDowell County  that includes gifts, food, and Christmas trees for families with children in high school and younger. They usually start registration for this in October to make sure that everyone can get their paperwork and registration documents in on time.

There are specific interview times that you can sign up for when you fill out an application. If you are trying to sign up after October, you can send them a message directly on their Facebook page and see if there are any other spots left.

If you need to contact them, you can call them at 828-460-8991 or you can email them.

Food Assistance:

The Dysartsville Food Pantry of the United Methodist Church provides boxes of food for those in need in McDowell County (and surrounding areas) on Thursdays. The Thursdays before and after both Thanksgiving and Christmas, the program provides holiday themed food baskets for families in need and also encourages you to bring others with you who may need help. 

It doesn’t seem like you have to provide any documents to benefit from the program, so you are free to go on Thursday whether it is a holiday or not. It doesn’t specify if you should enter through the back of the church, but you can contact them on their Facebook page (linked above) to clarify.

Sanford

Do you live in Sanford? You could get help with free gifts, toys and food during the Christmas season! Use the resources we found right here to help you and your children have a better Christmas!

Wake County

Wake county holds Raleigh, Garner and Holly Springs. If you live in any of these towns, you might be able to get help with your Christmas gifts and food! There are many resources that can help you make Christmas better while also giving you a chance to enjoy different opportunities in the county.

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Nicole Thelin

Nicole leads the Low Income Relief team with over 20 years of professional research and writing experience. Nicole started Low Income Relief after a personal experience with poverty. When her husband was medically discharged from the US Army, their family experienced tremendous financial hardship. Nicole was able to gather help from multiple community agencies and move into a nearby low income housing unit in just two weeks! Since then, Nicole has been dedicated to helping low income families in crisis. She regularly spends hundreds of hours combing through countless resources to make sure that Low Income Relief has the most comprehensive and complete resource directories on the internet today. Prior to starting Low Income Relief, Nicole worked as a novelist, journalist, ghostwriter and content creator. Her work has been featured in various print and online publications, including USA Today, eHow, Livestrong, Legal Beagle, The Daily Herald, The Chronicle and more.