That Thanksgiving dinner is all many of us can think about right now, but unfortunately, it's not a meal everyone can count on having this time of year.
At Gateway Mission, with their Annual Thanksgiving Banquet, they offer a meal and togetherness for those in need across West Michigan.
The annual even was held at DeVos Fieldhouse, at Hope College, where nearly 1400 plates of Thanksgiving Dinner were cleaned off by the Holland community.
And many of the citizens understand just how important this meal can be.
“We just have so many starving and hungry and homeless people in this town,” said Maria Quinton, an attendee whose been coming to the Banquet since 2012. “This is going to be, somebody's like only meal today.”
And that's why for over two decades now Gateway Mission has put together its annual banquet.
It originally started in the basement of a church, before growing to the event it is today.
“This is West Michigan, this is Holland. In a nutshell,” said Jay Riemersma, Executive Director of Gateway Mission.
“We have a generous community, a volunteer base that rivals anything I’ve ever seen. And it's incredible to see the people being the very feet of Christ by coming out and just serving people in need.”
The non-profit served everyone’s favorite in it's Thanksgiving Spread.
“You get your choice of white meat or dark meat, you get all the fixings,” Riemersma said. “You know, beans, potatoes, gravy, homemade pies, it takes an army of volunteers, but it's incredible to see when it all comes together.”
The army in question, included over 400 volunteers that helped to set the event up, like Mar Carrillo, who has made this banquet a family tradition.
“When I think of Thanksgiving, I think of the day before, you know in the community,” Carrillo said. “And that's what makes me feel thankful for all the blessings in my life.”
And having this showcase of love during the holidays can go a long way.
“You need, togetherness, the holidays are hard you know." Quinton said. "There’s a lot of depression already. I've never one time, in all my years of coming here, I’ve never had a bad table. Everybody is so pleasant. They're amazing.”
Gateway Mission ended the night by giving away care packages with hygiene products for people to take with.
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