A Halloween Service Opportunity

Trick-or-Treating: A Waning Tradition?

Fall is in the air. Costumes, spooky decor, and candy assortments are now fully enveloping aisles of the local grocery store in anticipation of Halloween. A huge money maker, Halloween-related sales accounted for more than $10 billion in 2021. Yet, while Halloween is known for kids dressing up in costumes and visiting homes of neighbors with expectation to receive, the tradition of trick-or-treating has declined in recent years. Fewer people are giving out candy, and fewer parents feel it’s safe to consume items doled out by strangers.

Safe Alternatives to Halloween Trick-or-Treating

While the nostalgia of trick-or-treating is appealing, many parents have sought alternatives for health and safety. Churches and communities now hold Trunk or Treats, Pumpkin Patches and Fall Festival events. Some neighborhoods create block parties or organize trick-or-treating among themselves. Some families these days even opt to just stay in for movie and game nights. But what if we, as Christ followers, reframed the idea of Halloween to be an opportunity to give, rather than to receive?

Halloween Fun with Purpose

What if parents had an opportunity to embrace all the fun of costumes and togetherness, while teaching the biblical truth that it is “more blessed to give than to receive?” What if, rather than pouring into the billion dollar industry of candy and decorations, we invested in something more long-lasting and meaningful—putting our money and energy where our values are? This Halloween, Feed the Need Missions is giving families an opportunity to do just that.

Feed the Need Missions Site are Open This Halloween

Feed the Need Missions is a non-profit hunger relief organization that has been feeding communities physically and spiritually for over a decade. Every week, rain or shine, we roll into communities across Texas, prepare hot meals, and share the message of Jesus with anyone who shows up. There is no cost for the meal, and no requirement to receive. We meet tangible and urgent needs, we pray for those who are lonely, and we teach people about the values of the Bible. And it is absolutely transforming lives and communities.

This Halloween takes place on Monday October 31. We invite you to join us at one of our three Monday site locations gatherings. Dress up in costume and come ready to have safe, and meaningful fun together as you serve, give, and shine the light of Christ. We’ll even fill those treat bags with a little candy. Our friendly Bastrop South, La Grange and Stony Point volunteer team will greet you and help you find a job just right for your family. Visit our locations page for details about each site meeting. We hope to see you—it would be a real treat!