Holland’s winter clothing drive runs through Nov. 14, and the Farmers Market’s Thanks for Giving food drive through Nov. 21

HOLLAND, Mich. — Downtown Holland and the Holland Farmers Market are running back-to-back holiday donation drives this month for local students and families.

Downtown Holland’s Winter Clothing Drive collects new winter clothing from Nov. 2 through Nov. 14 for Holland Public Schools families, according to a Downtown Holland announcement carried by the West Michigan Tourist Association. The Holland Farmers Market’s “Thanks For Giving!” food drive runs Nov. 4 through Nov. 21 for the Food Club at Community Action House.

Where to drop winter gear

Twelve downtown businesses are taking donations: Apothecary Gift Shop, Big Lake Brewing, Cherry Republic, Courtyard Marriott, Estella Rose Fashion, Frances Jaye, Holland Visitors Bureau, The Bridge, The City Delicatessen, The Poppy Peach, The Seasoned Home and Valeo / Training.

Organizers say the most-needed items are new winter boots, waterproof gloves and snow pants, though coats and hats are welcome. Sizes from prekindergarten through 12th grade are needed. Collected gear goes to the Power H shop at Holland Public Schools, where families can shop free for outerwear and other household items not covered by SNAP.

“While we love visitors, our local community is truly the reason behind everything we do,” Downtown Holland Marketing Coordinator Kara de Alvare said in the announcement.

Food drive hours and most-needed items

Food donations are collected at the market on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Nov. 21. The market already shifted to those winter hours on Nov. 4, as we noted in our story on the Farmers Market’s winter schedule.

Most-needed pantry items include cooking oils, beans, brown rice, canned vegetables, whole-wheat pasta, canned tuna or chicken, and low-sodium soups. Each market day a customer donates, they can enter a drawing for a Holland Farmers Market gift basket and $100 in Market Bucks; the winner is to be drawn Monday, Nov. 23.

FOX 17 reported that donations can also be dropped inside the Civic Center. The market’s own event page still shows 2025 dates and marks the drive as passed, so use the Nov. 4–21 window from the Downtown Holland / WMTA announcement for 2026.

Sources:
West Michigan Tourist Association, “Downtown Holland and the Holland Farmers Market to Give Back to the Community This Month” (Downtown Holland announcement; dates, store list, Power H, Food Club needs, drawing), Nov. 3, 2026, https://www.wmta.org/articles/post/downtown-holland-and-the-holland-farmers-market-to-give-back-to-the-community-this-month/
FOX 17, “Holland winter clothing drive and ‘Thanks for Giving’ food drive return to help families in need” (de Alvare quote, Civic Center drop note), Nov. 2026, https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/grand-rapids/holland-winter-clothing-drive-and-thanks-for-giving-food-drive-return-to-help-families-in-need
Holland Farmers Market, Thanks For Giving Food Drive event page (Market Bucks entry option; page still shows 2025 dates), https://www.hollandfarmersmarket.com/event/thanks-for-giving-food-drive/
Photo: BenHerrera1979, “Downtown Holland.jpg,” April 26, 2018, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and resized; derivative shared under the same license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Holland.jpg

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