COLORADO SPRINGS — On Thanksgiving many people think about what they are thankful for, but the holiday is also about giving back.
The Marian House Soup Kitchen provided a meal for the public on Thanksgiving day from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Downtown Colorado Springs.
“Good old Thanksgiving. So we're serving a holiday milk, classic holiday dinner, Turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, cranberries, you name it, pumpkin pie, the whole gambit,” Jim Benavidez said.
Jim Benavidez is in charge of all things food and nutrition related at the Marian House.
He said they’re expecting to feed 300 hundred people this Thanksgiving.
“They're our neighbors. There are folks in our community that are just having a hard time and whatever that hard time might be, we're here to help. We're here to make sure that they've got a full tummy and that they walk away feeling nourished, both physically, mentally and even spiritually,” Benavidez said.
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“Helping others, helping others. I don't know that I've missed a Thanksgiving in many, many years. Here it truly is that gift of giving both Thanksgiving and Christmas, the thank yous that you get make it so worthwhile,” Benavidez said.
Benavidez has been serving Thanksgiving day meals for 17 years. This holiday he is joined by 50 volunteers.
“We're truly blessed with a great volunteer base. Our volunteer director does a great job of giving us folks that want to serve and help our community and without them, quite honestly, we simply don't operate,” Benavidez said.
If you're interested in volunteering at The Marian House or if you would like to serve dinner next Thanksgiving, Benavidez said visit their website to sign up.
The Salvation Army also hosted community meals across Southern Colorado today including Woodland Park, Manitou Springs, fountain and Colorado Springs.
Pies piled high as volunteers handed them out to anyone who stopped by. A coordinator with the El Paso County Salvation Army, Stephen Ball said this meal is for anyone who can't be with their family this holiday or for people who don't want to cook this Thanksgiving. They say the holidays can be isolating for some individuals so they wanted to help connect people with their neighbors.
“I feel like community, connectedness, fellowship, friends, family, is a big deal. And if a person doesn't have that, you know that's a discouraging time. And so really, that's what this is all about,” Ball said.
The Salvation Army also home delivered Thanksgiving day meals. Those dinners and across their four locations the salvation army served nearly 2,000 meals this Thanksgiving.
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