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The Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Campaign is a huge part of the holiday season just like the Nativity scene, Santa Claus and presents. It's safe to say that for most people, it isn't Christmastime until the Salvation Army sets up its red kettles in front of stores.
The ubiquitous Red Kettle traces its roots to 1891 San Francisco when Captain Joseph McFee grew distraught over the hunger the city's poor population was experiencing.
Inspired by his time as a sailor in England, McFee placed a kettle pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Last holiday season, the campaign braced for lower-than-normal donation figures because of the pandemic, with donations declining by 50% last year. The 130-year-old Red Kettle Campaign usually runs from mid-November through Christmas Eve.
The original purpose of the Red Kettle Campaign was to provide free Christmas dinners to the poor. The dinners were intended for a thousand people. "Keep the pot boiling" was the slogan that was used on the outside of the kettles.
Six years later the campaign had spread east to Boston and soon had spread nationwide, feeding 150,000 people on Christmas. In 1901 dinners were provided at Madison Square Garden in New York and today the Salvation Army feeds four and a half million people over Thanksgiving and Christmas. The red kettle tradition has expanded beyond America to east Asia and Latin America as well.
The Salvation Army is facing another obstacle this holiday season due to a shortage of bell ringers for their kettles, according to Yahoo News. In one instance they had only four paid ringers and "a couple" volunteers for 48 locations. It has been speculated that this is due to the staffing shortages that are a problem in other industries. The Salvation Army believes they will struggle to meet their fundraising goals without bell ringers as people are less likely to give to a kettle that is not staffed.