As people around the country sit down to their Thanksgiving meal with family and friends at crowded dining room tables, hundreds in Gilroy are eating theirs at local soup kitchens.
At St. Joseph’s Family Center, the Salvation Army and Gilroy Compassion Center, individuals and families who are either homeless or cannot afford to make their own Thanksgiving feast at home are being treated to a nourishing meal and companionship for the holiday.
“Food is more than just a necessity to life, it’s also relationship building,” said Vicky Martin at St. Joseph’s Family Center, where up to 300 people were expected at their annual free meal. “We want to help heal and bring back good memories.”
For some, giving up their own Thanksgiving to serve others is as traditional as roast turkey and pumpkin pie. At St.Joseph’s more than 50 volunteers working in three shifts are helping prepare, serve and cleanup.
“We get volunteers that range in age from 13 to 70-plus years,” said Catherine Miramontes, who coordinates the Thanksgiving meal, called the Lord’s Table, with her husband, Guadalupe. “I have a list of repeat volunteers I contact each year to schedule for the meal preparation to the cleanup.”
Volunteers start preparing the meal early in the morning—turkey, stuffing, cranberry, yams, a selection of traditional desserts—and after all the food is served, they stay to sit and talk.
“We feel that everyone should try to extend those warm feelings and full tummies they enjoy to those who aren’t as fortunate,” said Miramontes, who has been volunteering at St. Joseph’s since 2010. “With our help we hope the folks we serve will one day be able to provide these memorable moments in their own domiciles with some reminders of how to do it because they remember their experiences at The Lord’s Table.”
At the Salvation Army on Fifth Street, which serves free turkey meals with all the fixings on Wednesday, church secretary Lorena Alcantar, said it is important for the Gilroy community to be aware of all they do.
In addition to the Thanksgiving meal that serves about 100 each year, the Salvation Army distributes clothing vouchers, operates a food pantry and fresh produce program and provides showers for the homeless an hour a day, three times a week.
Alcantar said over the 10 years she’s been at the church, she’s gotten to know a lot of people, learn their stories, and shared in their heartbreak.
“You get to know their problems and what they are going through.” Alcantar experienced homelessness herself when she was a teenager and had problems at home. One day she was invited to the church, attended a service and ended up staying. She said it was a miracle she survived.
Today her children volunteer at the church and each Christmas donate some of their own toys to local children in need.
“They like to help out,” said Alcantar, who has six kids ages 5 to 22. “They get to see that others don’t have what they have. It’s good for them to see that so they can appreciate and not take what they have for granted.”
In Santa Clara County, with its high wages—if you can get them—and high cost of living, it’s not just the homeless who are being served at local soup kitchens this holiday season.
Miramontes said many who rely on St. Joseph’s for food are employed and have homes.
“They must choose between food and buying their basic necessities and/or paying rent.”
Echoing that sentiment is Martin, who runs St. Joseph’s food pantry program, one of the three largest in the county based on food volume and the number of people served.
“When the economy does better it actually creates a larger divide between high and low incomes,” she said.
Martin regularly sees seniors and those on fixed incomes, students, low-wage agricultural and retail workers, as well as working families, having to decide between paying rent and getting nutritious food.
She estimates they serve 100 families a day when they give out grocery baskets and at least 550 families during their Monday morning fresh produce distribution, part of an initiative to get more fruits and vegetables into impoverished communities.
Martin tells of a lady who lost 12 pounds by eating the fresh produce St. Joseph’s distributes. She said there are teachers at Gavilan College who have brought food to school for hungry students.
Because of this need among local youth, St. Joseph’s began in 2014 to distribute food at eight schools in Gilroy. It’s more convenient for working families who don’t have time to get to a food pantry and helps alleviate some of the behavioral issues researchers have attributed to poor nutrition resulting from food insecurity.
“Hunger doesn’t take a break,” said David Cox, executive director at St. Joseph’s. “The enthusiasm we see from our community during the holidays is wonderful; we are blessed, but we would love it to be contagious and result in a year-round awareness.”
