MEMPHIS, Tenn.– As many of you prepare your Thanksgiving Day dinner, Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, the City of Memphis, along with other churches are making finals preps for MemFeast 2022.
Inside the kitchen at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, if you thought preparing your Thanksgiving feast for family and friends was a major undertaking then you haven’t seen the massive setup that will feed thousands of our neighbors in need.
This is what goes on behind the scenes at MemFeast 2022.
“So, for the past three days volunteers, as a matter of fact over 200, have been assembling boxes, smoking turkeys, chickens, and stuffing these bags we are going to give away that will have toiletries and snacks in them for people,” said Brian Harris, a Mississippi Boulevard church member and a MemFeast organizer. “It’s been a massive undertaking.”
Harris said the need is great and has grown in Memphis.
“In 2019 when this started…and we took it over from a nonprofit organization, it was 750 people. During the pandemic in 2020, it went to 3,000 and the last two years it’s been 5,000 people,” said Harris.
Chances are this outreach is a blessing to many, but what’s in it for the volunteers who donate their time to prepare or serve a hot meal to someone who’d otherwise be alone on Thanksgiving Day?
“Over the years, I’ve collected a lot of stories, but the one that sticks out to me the most is last year a widow who recently lost her husband, she saw it on this channel and came up and said you know if it wasn’t for you all I would be alone on Thanksgiving and it good to know that someone still cares and thinks about us who are lonely and suffering in silence and I’ll never forget that,” said Harris.
The annual gathering will happen on Thursday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at several different locations including:
- Mississippi Blvd Christian Church 70 N. Bellevue Blvd.Christ Missionary Baptist – 480 S Parkway
- EastMartin Temple CME Church – 65 S. Parkway West
- Mt. Pisgah CME Church – 2490 Park Avenue
- Faith Heritage Church of God in Christ – 3802 Gragg Avenue
- Ed Rice Community Center – 2907 N. Watkins Street
- Raleigh Town Center – 2975 Old Austin Peay Highway
- Hollywood Community Center – 1560 North Hollywood
- Whitehaven Community Center – 4318 Graceland Drive
