New Haven organizations came together to offer a Thanksgiving meal for people in need of one.
“Thanksgiving For All” was organized by Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK) and Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers of Greater New Haven.
The event has served people in New Haven for over 30 years, according to event organizers.
Steve Werlin, executive director for DESK, explained how it all works.
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“We collect all of the turkeys, we collect food. The food mostly gets prepared at Yale Hospitaility. It’s mostly going to be delivered through the power of volunteers who are driving to people’s homes on Thanksgiving Day.”
Dan Camenga, executive director for Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers of Greater New Haven, said this year over about 50 volunteers signed up to deliver the food.
Camenga added most of the deliveries went out to senior or homebound residents.
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"We're really agnostic in terms of need, need comes in a lot of different forms. Some people might be physically limited, they might be homebound."
He added this event is a way to reflect on challenges like inflation and social isolation.
"One of the reasons why Interfaith Volunteers love this so much is because of the isolation that folks feel and the feeling they get when we bring a meal, they know they're not isolated, they know folks are thinking about them."
Laura Campbell was one of the volunteer drivers who shared she’s been coming to Thanksgiving for all for decades, and it's become a tradition in her family.
“We have been coming out Thanksgiving morning and it used to be pre-pandemic preparing the food and now it's picking up and delivering,” Campbell said.
Meantime for Robert Balado, this year marked his third year delivering food.
“I love helping people, I'm a nurse, that's what I do full time and it's nice to see people happy when you're delivering food, especially when you know they have no one there,” Balado said.
He said he's been back since the first year because he knows he's making a difference.
