One in four U.S. citizens canceled Thanksgiving dinner last year due to extreme food prices, according to a 2022 research.

Though the report from Personal Capital was published last year, the average retail food prices increased 4.8% in the first six months of 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Denver Police Foundation, along with AT&T, wants to help. The groups’ volunteers will combat Thanksgiving prices and food insecurity by providing 1,000 free meals to families ahead of the holiday.

Officers and volunteers spent Thursday morning putting together packages of green beans, mashed potatoes and corn to pair with frozen turkeys or Cornish hens. They began distributing the meals afterward.

Police Chief Ron Thomas said the department identified the families in need through their community outreach officers, who help connect people with services, such as assistance for rent and food.

“We’re not just here to police the community and enforce rules. We really want to see the community be supported,” Thomas said in a news conference Thursday.

In addition to providing volunteers to help pack the meals, AT&T also gave a $15,000 donation to the Denver Police Foundation, a nonprofit that raises funds for the police department.

“The Denver Police Department sees the challenges families face every single day. The distribution of these meals that can be shared by families is a sincere act of kindness, especially as many families are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet,” said Guillermo Lambarri, AT&T’s state director of external and legislative affairs.

He said it’s the fourth year the company has worked with the Denver Police Foundation to provide Thanksgiving meals. Walmart is also a partner for the initiative, said Megan Pletcher, the foundation’s executive director.

“This event is absolutely one of our favorite to sponsor, as it helps to meet our community where they’re at in their time of need, and not their time of crisis,” she said.