Annual Thanksgiving dinner a blessing for many at Glendale Salvation Army
Louis Hanson was heading to a laundromat Tuesday evening when a sign from the Glendale Salvation Army caught his eye — a free Thanksgiving dinner.
When he entered the Salvation Army’s gym, he was greeted by the sight of rows upon rows of cloth-covered tables adorned with flower arrangements. To the side was a procession of people lining up for a pre-Thanksgiving turkey dinner with all the fixings — cranberry sauce, stuffing and mashed potatoes.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “The people are nice. They’re friendly … I enjoy it.”
The meal is a bit different than years past. Previously, the dinner was served on Thanksgiving Day.
According to Glendale Salvation Army Lt. Justin Shiflett, the date change was made so that the organization’s dinner didn’t conflict with similar ones held by other local charities and churches.
“There are a lot of other [places] that offer Thanksgiving dinners, so we wanted to space it out,” he said.
Robert Holmes said he’s been to Thanksgiving dinners served by Salvation Army branches across the Southland, including in Bell and Long Beach. At each and every one, there’s always been a constant, according to him.
“No matter what Salvation Army you go to, it’s outstanding,” he said. “The dinner, the people, everything … It’s outstanding.”
Shiflett said the Glendale Corps was ready to serve 300 meals for the evening, and 174 plates were already given out by the dinner’s halfway point.
He said the dinners couldn’t be successful without help from the community. In addition to food donations, dozens of people came out to help make the dinner possible, either by serving meals or setting up tables.
Sergio Ruiz works for the Salvation Army and has volunteered at past dinners. He said many people are thankful for the dinners because it may be the first hot meal they’ve had in days.
“They maybe haven’t eaten for two or three days. You don’t know,” he said. “The Salvation Army is helping them out. It’s a blessing.”
Twitter: @Andy_Truc
