Food to Be Thankful For

It was a special day for Ramona Rodriguez and her five children.

As she nibbled on a freshly baked pumpkin pie and her children enjoyed second and third servings of turkey with stuffing, she glanced with gratitude at the folks who run the Ventura County Rescue Mission.

“I’m so happy,” said Rodriguez, who was also celebrating her 33rd birthday. “We don’t have money to pay for the gas in our mobile home, so I have been cooking with firewood. My stomach has been upset for weeks. I think it’s nice that these people help those who have nothing.”

On Wednesday, Rodriguez and her kids were joined by about 400 people at the Ventura County Rescue Mission’s eighth annual pre-Thanksgiving lunch.

Those who attended enjoyed all the goodies of Thanksgiving, including turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes and stuffing, while a country band hammed it up in the background.

Carol Roberg, executive director of the mission, said this year’s event was the best ever. For the first time, the mission held its luncheon on 5th Street, which was closed to traffic.

“Everybody had a good time,” said Roberg, who added that at least 90 volunteers helped out Wednesday. “The people who come here forget about their problems for a while.”

Just as important as the meal, it’s the sharing of stories and warmth from volunteers that bring people like Debra Bailey back every year.

“I think it’s pretty good,” said Bailey, who lives in Oxnard. “Christmas is just as good. They give people the happiness and the greetings. It brings out a lot of spiritual things.”

That giving spirit was evident to Rodriguez, who left the mission with plates full of food for her kids to munch on later, as well as a donated butane tank for her home. But capping her happy day, Rodriguez was given a faux diamond ring by a volunteer for her birthday.

Throughout the county, others in need of a good meal and a few carefree hours grazed on turkey and trimmings.

In Thousand Oaks, the Manna food bank doled out food to more than 70 families by 2 p.m., and the needy kept coming.

“They’ve helped me in a few other tight times, so it’s really a big blessing,” said Sheila Meyer, 37, of Thousand Oaks, packing bags with the makings of a Thanksgiving feast for herself and her five children.

Meyer said she has just finished medical school and is looking for work as a medical secretary, but has had to rely on Manna until she can break into the field.

“Sometimes you feel really bad about doing it,” she said of shopping at the food bank. “I guess I’m the type of person that doesn’t really like to take. I’d rather be the one to give.”

Debbie King said she, too, never thought she would be relying on Manna. Yet there she was Wednesday, collecting Thanksgiving food for herself, her husband, their four teenagers and four guests.

“We’ve had a bad month,” said King, 40, of Thousand Oaks. “I usually donate to this place, but I guess now I’m kind of grateful that I did.

“My husband’s been out of work, he just started a new job today, and I’m a nurse,” she explained. “But I have a daughter with seizures that are kind of out of control, I’m taking care of an elderly relative, and I have my mom in a nursing home in Ojai. I just hope I can return the favor. They’re so generous.”

Fortunately, donors have been generous this Thanksgiving, helping stock shelves for the non-holiday times to come, which are traditionally much leaner for Manna, said Pauline Satterbo, the food bank’s administrator.

“The markets have donated, and canned goods were given by the schools, the churches, the clubs and the temples,” she said. “There’s just so many things that we need all year long, this is just really terrific.”

The festivities will continue today at the Rescue Mission from noon to 2 p.m. but will be organized by the Tried Stone Church.

In addition, a turkey dinner will be served 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Salvation Army’s new building on Wooley Road in Oxnard.

Project Understanding, a county shelter program, will also be hosting a meal at the National Guard Armory, at 351 K. St., in Oxnard at 6 p.m.