TD Garden hosts Boston's largest Thanksgiving meal for people in need
Hundreds of people who are homeless received a hot meal at the TD Garden in Boston on Tuesday.
There were green beans, mashed potatoes and a whole helping of love all served during the 29th Table of Friends Thanksgiving feast. The annual event partners with non-profit Friends of Boston's Homeless aiming to serve the city's largest Thanksgiving meal.
"We have a team of 10 chefs and 250 cooks," said TD Garden Executive Chef Jason Gorman.
1,000 people at Table of Friends fest
He says they had just two days, squeezed between a packed Bruins and Celtics schedule, to prepare enough food for roughly 1,000 guests. In the end, they carved 800 pounds of turkey, poured 10 gallons of cranberry sauce, and baked a 501-pound pie.
Something a bit different about Table of Friends are the meatballs. It's not your usual Thanksgiving side, but it's become a tradition at this dinner.
"We always do something a little bit different to enhance it," Gorman said. "And this year we had the fall leaf cookies on the pumpkin pie."
"We have hundreds of volunteers, you know an army of people putting together this wonderful meal, and it gives us an opportunity to share something back in the community," said TD Garden President Glen Thornborough.
The crowd served up spirit, too. "So, this right here gives families and the disadvantaged people a break to have something to eat," said LT, who makes the trek from Salem every year.
He returns not just for the food, but the feeling of comfort and community.
"Table of Friends, I love that slogan because you meet people that actually you've seen, but then you meet strangers that become friends," LT said.
The initiative has provided more than 22,000 meals and contributed over $110,000 to the Housing Start-Up Fund, helping hundreds of people transition into permanent housing.