Volunteers make sure families facing serious illness have a happy Thanksgiving

Hundreds of volunteers with a Northeast D.C.-based nonprofit woke up early Thursday morning to make sure folks living with serious illnesses, such as cancer and AIDS, have a happy Thanksgiving with their families.

Food and Friends Executive chef Rasheed Abdurrahman and his staff and volunteers have cooked up a whopping 9,000 pounds of Turkey for around 850 families.

“There’s mashed potatoes, there’s gravy, there’s buttered corn, there’s stuffing, there’s two pies, collard greens, cut green beans. It’s a full Thanksgiving meal,” he told WTOP.

Volunteers made an assembly line packing up the different fixings for a delicious feast.

“I’ve been volunteering with them for 20 years now, and Thanksgiving morning is one of the funnest times. We pack meals that will feed a family of four filled to the gills,” Chris Sasiela said.

More volunteers then delivered the 4,600 Thanksgiving meals to families across the D.C. area dealing with severe illnesses over the holiday season.

“Our delivery area is larger than the state of Connecticut. So we cover nine counties in Maryland and seven counties in Virginia in addition to the District,” said Food and Friends Director Carrie Stoltzfus.

The deliveries are enough for five people to enjoy a holiday feast.

“It is a lot of work to cook 9,000 pounds of turkey, but you know, what really brings us enjoyment is that we have the opportunity to provide a Thanksgiving meal to our clients, and then they can host a meal for their families. And that’s really where the joy comes in,” Abdurrahman said.

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