Volunteers pack meals for home delivery at the Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner in 2025. Thousands of volunteers are needed every year to help make the event happen.
Clint Datchuk/Contributor
Carlos Antonio Raymond volunteers at the Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner last year. The call for volunteers for this year’s charitable feast went out Wednesday.
Clint Datchuk
Coordinators of San Antonio’s “feast of the heart” issued their annual call for volunteers to help make the long-running charitable dinner happen.
Volunteer sign-up for the Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner opened at rauljimenezdinner.com at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Registration will remain open until all slots are filled.
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Volunteer opportunities include meal prep, kitchen cleanup and decorating duties. Help with greeting at the event also is needed.
This year marks the 47th edition of the dinner, a community table affair put together through donations, corporate sponsorships and volunteers’ efforts. It is one of the largest Thanksgiving benefit events in the country, organizers have said.
Businessman Raul Jimenez and his wife Maria started the dinner in San Antonio in 1979, serving about 100 senior citizens. The event quickly got the support of elected officials, community leaders and sponsors, allowing the Jimenez family to expand the dinner’s reach.
For over four decades, a free traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner has been served to anyone in need of a hot meal. Hundreds of thousands of meals have been served annually.
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Patricia Jimenez, the daughter of the dinner’s founders, is the president and CEO of the Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner. She has helmed the annual event since 1997, carrying on the charitable legacy of her late parents alongside other members of the Jimenez family.
She said her father’s purpose for starting the charitable dinner was about more than providing a meal.
“His idea of also showing love was to do something to serve a warm meal on a plate to anyone who needs a place to belong,” Jimenez said at a news conference Wednesday morning. “He called it his feast of the heart.”
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This year, event organizers expect to serve 29,000 meals at the Convention Center and deliver another 4,600 meals to residents’ homes, said Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, who helped launch the call for volunteers.
The expected number tops the amount of meals prepared last year, when about 29,000 total meals were served and delivered.
The mayor said many San Antonio families continue to be affected by high food costs and financial hardships, so event organizers expect a large turnout.
Jimenez thanked the numerous sponsors of the event, including the Kim Rapier Foundation, which is returning as the event’s presenting sponsor.
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She called the foundation’s $50,000 donation that was presented Wednesday the largest single gift the dinner has received. The contribution, she said, will allow for more meals to be delivered and for more children’s activities to be added at the in-person event.
“We’re very excited for this year’s event,” Jimenez said. “What began as one family’s tradition is now a San Antonio tradition, going strong for 47 years.”
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The 47th annual Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner is set for Nov. 26 at the Convention Center, 900 E. Market St. Doors open at 9 a.m.; an all-faith worship service takes place at 10 a.m., then food service, entertainment and dancing go on from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
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To sign up for dinner delivery, call 211 and select option 1. A deadline for delivery reservations hasn’t been set, but organizers suggest making a reservation as early as possible to secure a spot.
VIA Metropolitan Transit will provide free transportation to and from the dinner.