Thanksgiving is a time of full dinner tables but not everyone can share in the plenty, and that’s why a number of local organizations helped dish out turkey and all the trimmings on Thursday.
For the 63rd year, the Open Door Mission hosted a Thanksgiving banquet for Rochester's most vulnerable citizens.
Executive Director Michael Hennessy says they expected to serve at least 350 meals.
He says they're seeing younger people, more families and women and children come down to the Mission for meals. Hennessey says they can keep up with the demand only because the community steps up.
The region's food bank, Foodlink, expects to distribute 18-million pounds of food this year, including 20-thousand local produce baskets this holiday season.
And that's about a 40 to 45 percent increase over last year, according to Matthew Knaub, director of food bank operations at Foodlink.
The food is available at various soup kitchens, food pantries, the Salvation Army and Open Door Missions, which all partner with Foodlink.
Mayor Lovely Warren, her husband Tim and her daughter Taylor joined Asbury Methodist Church and community volunteers in feeding the homeless on Thanksgiving Day. Meals were served at the Asbury Dining and Caring Center, located at 1010 East Ave.
Over 100 meals were served to those in need. Asbury Methodist Church began feeding those in need back in 1993. Since then, they’ve opened their Dining and Caring Center and the number of people served has increased each year.
Earlier in the week Mayor Warren distributed hundreds of Thanksgiving turkeys to needy families and seniors throughout Rochester. Distributing turkeys is an annual tradition that Mayor Warren started in 2010 when she was a member of City Council.
