MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It took weeks of planning, 100 turkeys and a lot of kind-hearted people to get this year’s Thanksgiving meal for the homeless up and running.
After construction at the Cook Convention Center initially led to the feats being canceled, city leaders and several organization came to the rescue.
“The mayor said, ‘We have to do it. We have to do it. We have to pull together,'” said Allison Fouche with the City of Memphis. “So, we just rallied the troops together and made it happen.”
The people of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church were up before the sun, prepping, cooking and putting together goodie bags filled with snacks, blankets, socks and gloves for people in need.
“We decided that we not only wanted to feed the soul, we wanted also to make sure that they were going to be warm and to make sure that they had some necessities,” said Charles Monger with Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church.
Meanwhile downtown, volunteers set up tables and tents at the Civic Center Plaza outside City Hall where MemFeast is being served.
“We put people first, and I think that that’s what it’s all about – being thankful for the city and where we’re going,” said Monger.
“The philanthropy in Memphis always surprises me, and in this case, we didn’t even really have to do much,” added Fouche. “It was just like, we put the call out and the flood gates opened.”
But the village of people who came together to make this feast happen want to also send the message that the city can always do more.
“This is just one day. We have 364 days of the year, and we need to figure out how we can do more for our fellow man here in the city.”