Family food budgets in New York could be stretched thin this year as high costs on fixings are forcing some to turn to their local food pantries for holiday meals.

Jemika Hall said when her son, Marc, was killed by gun violence, she wanted to help people in need in his name.

Community-based nonprofit MARCS Friends was born and this time of year, Hall is doing all she can to feed families that need a little extra help to have a happy Thanksgiving.

“I think it's important that, if no other day during the year, we try to make sure that families are comforted. It’s Thanksgiving," she said.

This year, a Thanksgiving spread is costing a little more in New York, something that everyone, including food pantries and food banks, are dealing with.

According to a survey by the New York Farm Bureau, New Yorkers will pay about $70 for an average Thanksgiving meal this year. That's a 6% increase from last year.

Turkey prices are down nationwide, but according to the farm bureau’s survey of New Yorkers who have already bought a turkey, a $30 turkey from last year is more like $34 this year.

The price of green peas and stuffing is also up compared to last year. This year's Thanksgiving dinner costs are lowest in the Midwest, where the average 10-person meal is $58.66. Prices are highest in the Northeast, where an equivalent meal cost $64.38.

Sara Gunn, director of the Hudson Valley Food Bank, says demand for services is, unfortunately, higher this year, too.

“Within New York, one out of 10 people, adults, and one out of seven children are food insecure," she said. "And every time I say that, I get goosebumps because it's so difficult.”

Rising costs not only lead more people to find extra help, it also makes it more difficult for grocery stores to donate. So the food bank has to start looking early for donations.

“(We) start in March to get the amount of turkeys, what we anticipate that we will need," Gunn said. "So they thought it through their channels, and then a portion of them comes down here."

On Monday, Tenth Mountain Division soldiers from Fort Drum delivered two tons of food to the Lowville Food Pantry ahead of Thanksgiving

Hall will do whatever it takes to ensure people in her community get fed. She said she wants to be the one to step up and help when prices are high during the holidays.

“Just people showing the humanity of mankind," Hall said. "And empathizing with other people that the food inflation has definitely have everyone in a chokehold with providing for their families.”