Agencies seek donations to provide holiday dinner

As organizers prepare to feed about 2,000 homeless and poor people on Thanksgiving Day, more local donations are needed, officials said.

“Primarily what we need is monetary donations and gift cards,” said Gordon Hall, a Salvation Army spokesman for Chattanooga.

The Salvation Army, along with several local organizations, businesses and city officials, will host the third annual Unity in the Community: A Thanksgiving Day Celebration in the First Tennessee Pavilion from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

Last year, volunteers served about 1,700 homeless and poor people at the event and want to make this year’s Thanksgiving dinner even larger, Mr. Hall said.

When the Thanksgiving Day dinner began three years ago, it helped bring together the agencies in the city that were serving their own dinners, said Jens Christensen, director of marketing for the Chattanooga Community Kitchen, one of the local organizations that helps spearhead the dinner.

“A number of agencies (come) together to serve the community and provide a place for everybody to come together,” Mr. Christensen said.

More contributions are needed, specifically paper products, blankets, clothing items and cash donations, he said. More volunteers are welcome, too.

Between $1,000 to $1,500 is still needed to buy some of the food and paper products for the dinner, he said.

Gift cards to Walmart are needed for employees to buy the remaining items. The blankets and clothes will be handed out after the dinner, he said.

Any donations should be brought to the Salvation Army on McCallie Avenue, he said.

All turkeys for the dinner have been donated by several businesses and individuals, including the Chattanooga Community Kitchen, Mr. Hall said.

“It’s an entire community effort,” he said.