NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Many have struggled this year more than ever, but volunteers are making sure people in need are not forgotten this Thanksgiving.
Restaurant workers have dealt with their own struggles this year brought on by the pandemic, including waitress and bartender Chrishonda Moore.
"Of course it was hard on us," she said as she was helping package meals to serve to others.
Even so, this week especially, Moore is focused instead on helping others."2020 has been rough, but you also have to look at the positives going on, with everyone sticking together and growing together, having more understanding with love," Moore said.
She and coworkers with Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts are volunteering for the 7th year on Thanksgiving week in a row at the New Orleans Mission. Tuesday, the hospitality group donated food and served meals to 500 people in need.
"Throughout the year we are asked by a lot of our team members - can they come and do this again and there was no doubt we were going to do this," said CEO of Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts, Zeid Ammari.
Meanwhile, The Abundant Life Tabernacle also hosted a Thanksgiving giveaway.
They handed out about 500 boxes full of food to people in the community.
Pastor Tyrone Jefferson got the call not even 24 hours earlier that another giveaway fell through and the boxes of food needed a place to go.
"This dropped in my lap in the last minute. One of our partners called saying 'pastor I have 500 boxes, can you use them' and the rest is history," he said.
The line that wrapped around the building served as proof that the message got out fast and it was needed."
There's a great need and not just in this area, but all around New Orleans," Jefferson said.
Many of the free Thanksgiving meal giveaways are to-go this year as a safety measure.
