Chicago Salvation Army provides hundreds with Thanksgiving meals-to-go
CHICAGO - The Salvation Army worked to feed hundreds this holiday with Thanksgiving meals-to-go. They spent hours handing out turkey and all trimmings at the Salvation Army Freedom Center in Humboldt Park.
"Prices of food have gone up. So that makes it a little bit more difficult than what you normally would go buy for the Thanksgiving meal. It might be a little bit more difficult or items may be out. So I think this is great that we were able to contribute with some of the normal items for Thanksgiving," said Captain Nikki Hughes from the Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army handed out bags of PPE to keep people safe, but the main draw was the food. Due to the pandemic they couldn’t have a sit down meal, so they handed out 2500 meals hot and ready to eat at home.
"This is a blessing for people who don't have anything. I'm not saying I don't have any food. I just didn't have a Thanksgiving dinner. And I'm grateful to have this and to have my grandkids want to come over and sit down and visit with me and we can also sit down and have a meal," said Ludovia Edmond as she picked up a meal for three.
To make this happen it takes an army of helpers. The work to prep all this food stated earlier this week at Guaranteed Rate Field in the Levy Kitchen where a team prepared 900 pounds of turkey, 360 pounds of potatoes, 280 pounds of green beans and 150 pounds of cranberries.
Thursday volunteers at the Salvation Army dished it up and handed it out. That included several from the Sikh community, for whom volunteering honors one of their basic principles.
"Vanc Chakko, to share with others. This is a part of that, to share our earnings with others. That's why we are here," explained Sarwan Singh.
The Salvation Army also had teams taking food straight to people who really need it. They spent part of Thanksgiving driving around and handing out meals to homeless people.