St. Matthew’s House serves 450 free Thanksgiving Day meals in East Naples
EAST NAPLES, Fla. – St. Matthew’s House hosted their annual free Thanksgiving meal Thursday, serving about 450 meals to the homeless and hungry across the Collier County community.
“We started with the turkey drop, something like 3,000 turkeys and 3,500 bags of groceries. Going back a couple weeks we’ve sent about 5,000 turkeys to hungry families,” said Steve Brooder, the CEO of the nonprofit.
Turkey, stuffing, and all the fix-ins were provided through the gracious donations of volunteers throughout the last two months.
“It’s been instilled in me to always help people. It warms my heart to see all that,” said Bill Fillbin, a Vietnam veteran who has been providing side dishes for the meal for 26 consecutive years.
St. Matthew’s House served the homeless, the less fortunate, and residents who stay at their East Naples shelter, the Campbell Lodge. Anyone who was hungry had a seat at the table.
“I’m from North Carolina and I drove 12 hours to be here. If I hadn’t done that and St. Matt’s hadn’t taken me in, I’d have nothing,” said Ethan Pratt, a St. Matthew’s House resident who is in the drug recovery program.
“These are my brothers and I’d do anything for them. I have a family now,” added Kaleb Golladay, who is also in the program.
The Thanksgiving dinner wrapped up Thursday, but St. Matthew’s House is already organizing their Christmas dinner giveaway. Donations are always accepted at the nonprofit’s East Naples shelter.
