AUSTIN (KXAN) – An organization that provides meals to those who need them on Thanksgiving said it had its busiest day on Thursday.  Operation Turkey has been delivering Thanksgiving meals to low-income individuals since 2000. Executive Director Brian Tolbert said that in a typical year, his organization will provide 10,000 meals throughout the Austin area.  “This year, we did 15,000 and we could have done a lot more meals today,” Tolbert said. “Unfortunately, we ran out of food.”  The spike in meal requests comes as inflation continues to strain American families at the grocery store.  The American Farm Bureau Federation conducts an annual survey of Thanksgiving food prices to provide a snapshot of the average cost to cook and serve a meal. The organization said that prices have dipped in the last couple of years, but a Thanksgiving meal is still 19% higher in 2024 than the year that preceded the COVID-19 pandemic.  “People don't realize that there are a lot of people in this city that just simply do not have enough food to eat,” Tolbert said. “[Some] still have a need for food. They either get it from organizations like us, or they don't eat. And it's a sad situation.”  Tolbert said in a typical year, Operation Turkey’s operations would conclude by 10:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. This year, it did not wrap up until 1:00 p.m., and volunteers were still unable to deliver 1,000 meals.  While Thanksgiving 2024 has come and gone, Operation Turkey said it is still committed to fulfilling the promise of delivering those final 1,000 meals.  “We're still going to do what it takes to get those 1,000 meals to those individuals within the next few weeks, but we still need resources and we need funding,” Tolbert said.  Those interested in donating to Operation Turkey can do so on its website.