Some were homeless, some were needy, but all of them were hungry a week before Thanksgiving. Thanks to a Baltimore based non- profit, homeless assistance program, those in need were fed at a pre-Thanksgiving Day meal at the Village Sports Bar and Grill in east Baltimore.
On Nov. 23, the Belvedere Assisted Living/Belvedere Homes teamed up with the neighborhood restaurant to feed more than 200 people who are in need of food.
“This is just something small that we can do to give back and help out,” Christina Flowers, president of Belvedere Assisted Living told the AFRO. “The main ingredient is to continue to do things like this to help.”
The four-hour dinner drew community leaders, residents and volunteers who all share a common goal—to feed those in need.
Donoven Brooks, who is running for Baltimore City’s sheriff post, came with his campaign staff to deliver supplies and drinks and to just help out.
“With the current state of our economy and with the holiday season—there are just simply people who, for different reasons, are in need of assistance,” he said.
Brooks told the AFRO it’s the humanitarian thing to do to help people out. “I think it is extremely important for basic human needs to be meet, we celebrated on that day, but it’s important to recognize that people need support all year round,” he said.
Volunteers and those who just wanted to give back and help those in need purchased the food—which included a traditional Thanksgiving Day menu: turkey, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, rolls, greens and an array of desserts.
Flowers said there are a lot of people in our communities that are hungry and don’t know where their next meal is coming from.
Belvedere Assisted Living has been providing support to the homeless or poor since March 2003. “It’s overwhelming because there are so many people out there that need the support,” said Flowers.
“We want to help and support the less fortunate,” Bishop Matthew Bradby of Faith Church Baltimore told the AFRO.
He said this was his first year partnering with Belvedere Assisted Living, but said it has been a blessing to the community.
“There is so much more that collectively that we can do,” Flowers said.
To carry on the holiday spirit, gifts will be collected for families and toys for children as well as feeding those in need for the Christmas Holiday.
“God gave me the vision that my program will make a difference in the community.”
