Glide prepares thousands of meals for Bay Area residents in need

Of all the Thanksgiving Day traditions, the Glide Memorial Thanksgiving Day meal is perhaps the best known in the Bay Area.

It provides thousands of meals for anybody who can make it down to the church in San Francisco. This year, it'll also provide those for hundreds of people who can’t make it.

It has been four years since the organization held the event inside. But with COVID under control, and thanks to the 100 volunteers who worked all day Wednesday, in-person dining returns Thursday at 6 a.m.

“We will be prepping 1,200 pounds of turkey 1,900 pounds of ham,” said Kent Robillard of Glide. “We anticipate serving 2,400 meals throughout the day and that excitement is palpable.”

That’s a whole lot of food, but Glide sees a whole lot of people in need of a free hot meal.

“Any person viewing this will understand when you look at the prices at the grocery store, inflation, increase of prices across-the-board that is pushing people into very challenging financial times, and to be honest, it has its greatest impact on the poorest of the poor,” said ____.

The dining room reopened in July of this year but this will be the biggest celebration It has seen post-pandemic.

Glide is also launching what it calls “Glide Forward” through their mobile services-sending a van out to the community with 250 meals and hygiene kits to those unable to make it to the Tenderloin.

Next up for Glide is the Grocery Bag Giveaway on Dec. 13 to help 4,400 families have a full holiday meal at Christmas time.