Thousands of volunteers are swarming auditoriums, gyms, churches and street corners today — Thursday. Nov. 28 — to provide Thanksgiving meals, packaged food, clothing and other aid to homeless and indigent individuals across Los Angeles County.
Rekindling an event that came close to being canceled this year, Pasadena’s Union Station Homeless Services’ team is gathering to cook warm holiday meals at the organization’s Adult Center to those without access to a kitchen.
The dinner marks the culmination of Dinner in the Park, a two-week program hosted by the nonprofit for over half a century to provide food and comfort to those in need. This year, the beloved tradition was nearly canceled due to a shortage of donations.
However, after Union Station issued an urgent plea for help, the community rallied, showering the organization with turkeys, mashed potatoes, canned goods and other Thanksgiving Day staples. Within days, the event was revived.
Meanwhile, at Skid Row’s Midnight Mission, crews are preparing meals for about 2,000 homeless and near-homeless people.
Crews are closing down Sixth Street in front of the downtown L.A. mission so staff and volunteers can serve 3,500 pounds of turkey and 500 pounds of stuffing, topped by 50 gallons of gravy, along with 3,500 pounds of oven-baked glazed ham, 1,000 pounds of garlic mashed potatoes, 750 pounds of seasonal vegetables, 250 pounds of cranberry sauce, 300 pounds of dinner rolls and 300 pounds of holiday dessert, according to Georgia Berkovich, the mission’s chief communications officer.
Mr. T and fellow actors Amanda Peet and Sarah Paulson are expected to be among the volunteers.
“Of the many services The Midnight provides to our unique community, one of the most important is the sense of family we offer to those who often feel lost and forgotten during the holidays and other days of celebration,” Berkovich said. “Now, more than ever, we must work together to restore hope and dignity to those in need.”
El Pollo Inka Peruvian Restaurant in Gardena restaurant plans its 17th annual community Thanksgiving celebration this afternoon, Nov. 28, an event organized by the Gardena Valley Lions Club and the city.
The meal features all the traditional Thanksgiving gut-busters, such as turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert G. Luna gave away dozens of boxed turkey dinners on Tuesday, in partnership with the Sheriff’s Youth Foundation.
Luna was joined by both the youth foundation and Embrace Foundation in donating 70 boxed turkey dinners to families of youth who are enrolled in the Freddie Roach Youth Boxing Academy at the Sheriff’s Biscailuz Training Center in East L.A.
The boxing academy offers a space where youth can be active and “build positive relationships between law enforcement and the community,” according to a statement from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. The boxing academy is open four days a week after school gets out.
“This initiative promotes inclusivity and empowers participants by providing skill-building opportunities and quality training from renowned boxers and trainers, including members of the esteemed LASD Boxing Team,” according to the statement. The boxing academy “serves as a place to keep young people safe, physically active, promote sportsmanship, and more importantly, promote positive relationships between law enforcement and community.”
All boxed dinners contained a 15-pound turkey and all the side dishes needed to feed a family of six. The meals were provided by a Sheriff’s Youth Foundation Board member and owner of London’s Pub and Grill in Artesia.
About 2,000 volunteers from across Southern California came together to assemble and hand out 4,000-plus bags of food in Studio City to kick off Big Sunday’s 13th annual Thanksgiving Stuffing Event, known as a “festival of gratitude.”
Dave Cooper, an Encino resident, was encouraged by a tennis buddy years ago to get involved with the L.A. nonprofit Big Sunday.
“Big Sunday is like the heartbeat of Los Angeles,” said Cooper, dressed in a turkey costume to entertain the crowd. “Every time I come to a Big Sunday event, I meet people from all over the city and it makes me feel like I’m part of this big city helping other people out.”
Each bag of food, which included fresh produce, served a family of four. The bags, assembled on Wednesday, are distributed to more than 100 schools and nonprofits in Southern California, helping struggling families, homeless people, veterans, seniors, victims of domestic violence, those with special needs, runaway youth and others.
The event took place on “Residential Street,” part of the iconic film and television studio lot at Radford Studio Center in Studio City. Individuals and groups collected hundreds of pounds of food by hosting food collections that were dropped off at Big Sunday’s headquarters. Other volunteers made cards for each bag, or collected cash donations.
Organizers expect at least 16,000 people would benefit. “This has been such an emotional time,” said David Levinson, Big Sunday’s founder and executive director and author of the book “Everyone Helps, Everyone Wins: How Absolutely Anyone Can Pitch In, Help Out, Give Back, and Make the World a Better Place.”
Another 2,000 people are expected at the Laugh Factory Hollywood for its annual free Thanksgiving feast, continuing a tradition begun in 1979, just a week after the club opened, with a small event that served 71 comedians who were away from home and their children.
Tim Allen, Tiffany Haddish and Craig Robinson are among the comedians scheduled to serve and perform.
“Spending the Thanksgiving holiday alone is no laughing matter,” said Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada, who encouraged the public to spread the word about the event.
Not a meat eater? The Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck, billed by organizers as “Los Angeles’ largest in-person vegan event for the holiday,” planned a mid-day meal near the Cheviot Hills Recreation Center.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger is scheduled to be among the volunteers helping prepare and meals at Project Angel Food’s temporary location at Amped Kitchen in Lincoln Heights. Project Angel Food delivers medically tailored meals to more than 2,500 critically ill men, women and children in Los Angeles County daily and more than 1.5 million meals each year.
Reporters Marianne Love, Ryan Carter, Olga Grigoryants and City News Service contributed to this report.
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