Vonne Porter clasps her hands and bows her head over the trays of food laid out in front of her. She closes her eyes - maybe to take a moment for herself or maybe to trap the small tears already creeping out.
Across the table, Teandra Shackleford also starts to cry as two women lay trays laden with turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans and other Thanksgiving staples in front of her.
"It's beautiful," Porter said of her meal, gesturing at the spread before her, complete with a slice of pumpkin pie and cup of sweet tea. "It's more than we need."
A worn bible sits on a table next to a piece of pie at a Thanksgiving lunch at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Dozens of volunteers came to cook and serve the kitchen's annual holiday meal.Both women are homeless - one sleeps in her car, the other "wherever she can lay her head" - and they are two of the hundreds of people the Chattanooga Community Kitchen fed Thursday, while Americans across the country gathered for a bite to eat, some football and to give thanks.
Though dozens of volunteers prepare and serve a special holiday meal there each Thanksgiving and Christmas, the community kitchen is frequented by Chattanooga's homeless and low-income population for three meals every day of the year.
"Today is Thanksgiving and, beyond the cliches, today is a rich American tradition that people should not lose out on because they don't have a place to go," said Jimmy Turner, the kitchen's chief operations officer.
"You don't stop being homeless because it's a holiday," he added. "Today is a holiday for everyone else, but we are open for business."
LaChandra Lewis serves Thanksgiving lunch at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Dozens of volunteers came to cook and serve the kitchen's annual holiday meal.Turner estimates each holiday the kitchen feeds 600-700 people, but some years it has served more than 1,000. On a typical day, 400-500 pass through the kitchen for breakfast, lunch or dinner, as well as other services such as case management to help them obtain housing, showers and hygiene products, or to use telephones or computers.
During the holidays, the kitchen can depend on a large turnout of volunteers, Turner said, but it can use donations of both time and money year-round.
Lee Chang has been bringing his family to the kitchen every Thanksgiving for seven years - since his son, Alex, was 5 years old.
"We enjoy coming as a family and it helps teach our son about service and how you can always service others," Chang said. This year the family brought along their niece for the first time, and they were joined by their friend Cathy Veal, who has started volunteering on a weekly basis.
Kathy Hannah also volunteers each holiday since she and her husband became empty nesters and didn't know what to do with their holidays.
Janey Brooks serves Thanksgiving lunch at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Dozens of volunteers came to cook and serve the kitchen's annual holiday meal."We all want to do something for others. It makes you feel better, too," she said. Hannah has also gotten involved with a women's ministry through her church, Clear Creek Church of Christ, and said it has taught her how to reach out and connect with others.
"It's given me the courage to 'hug the unhuggable,' as Jesus ministered to 'the untouchables,'" she said. "It makes me so sad that that's how people are viewed."
While bringing hot plates of food or clearing trash, Hannah sits beside those eating, leaning in and talking with them. After Shackleford began crying, Hannah spent several minutes with her, talking in a hushed voice and hugging her. The two were joined by another volunteer, Lysa Ainsworth, who placed her hands on Shackleford's forearms and prayed over her.
"I'm just glad that I can wake up and see another day," Shackleford said. "I wake up every day and thank God for showing me what it takes to get back on my feet. You have to walk with a strong back and your head high, because if you don't, you'll never get anywhere."
Contact staff writer Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.
Volunteers serve a Thanksgiving lunch at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Dozens of volunteers came to cook and serve the kitchen's annual holiday meal.