Thousands made their way to the Fresno Mission’s City Center in Central Fresno on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
The organization hosted its “One Table” banquet– in collaboration with the Central California Food Bank.<\/p>\n
Guests received a free steak meal and a week’s worth of food for the holidays.<\/p>\n
“One table is an amazing event that brings together so many different parts of our community,” said Fresno Mission’s CEO, Matthew Dildine.<\/p>\n
Organizers said there was a huge need for this event. The recent government shutdown took a toll on already struggling Central California families.<\/p>\n
“It was an extremely stressful time. And they were managing their own finances. Some were delaying payments to utilities or their rent,” said Central California CEO, Kym Dildine.<\/p>\n
Volunteers served around 4,200 meals– a significant increase from the 3,000 served last year.<\/p>\n
Steve May, one of the attendees, said he didn’t expect a hot meal. He was just hoping for a bag of food to take home because times have been tough.<\/p>\n
“I don’t have medical anymore. So, it makes it kind of tough to stretch the social security for a length of time,” said May.<\/p>\n
The offering didn’t stop at food, several of the 500 volunteers helped people choose coats to take with them, as well.<\/p>\n
“This is a blessing from God and to the rest of the community. That he’s reaching out,” said attendee, Suzie.<\/p>\n
By the end of the day, Fresno Mission said roughly 5-thousand donated jackets were given to those who need them most.<\/p>\n
Organizers at One Table said it takes a lot of manpower and money to put on such a large-scale event.<\/p>\n
If you’d like to help, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n For news updates, follow Vince Ybarra on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n