More than 2100 people lined up outside the DeVos Center in downtown Grand Rapids Thursday morning for Mel Trotter Ministries’ 16th Annual Great Thanksgiving Banquet.
More than 700 volunteers helped put the event together. Many stayed busy today in the Center’s kitchen, prepping a feast full of all the Thanksgiving favorites: mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, gravy, rolls, and – of course – turkey.
It might not be a life-changing day, but the hope is to give a good meal and company to people down on their luck in the area this year.
“You know, poverty happens,” Reverend Chico Daniels of MTM says. “Let’s face it; we’re not going to eradicate poverty, but at least we can do this kind of thing for the people that are hurting the most.”
“This generosity the community pours out every year…it’s phenomenal, so everybody’s gonna leave today with smiles on their faces.”
