Volunteers giving away nearly 2,000 Thanksgiving meals to Pittsburgh families

PITTSBURGH — Efforts are underway to feed hundreds of families for Thanksgiving, as volunteers aren’t letting the COVID-19 pandemic stop them from helping those in need.

They have been working on it for days. Volunteers packed more than 1,800 Thanksgiving meal boxes for families to take home Thursday, and 50 people will be at the Light of Life Rescue Mission on E North Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood.

Those volunteers are also going to deliver hot meals to people in nine different apartment buildings throughout the city.

“What mattered to us today is if we didn’t open, if we didn’t provide Thanksgiving meals to those in need ... they may not have a Thanksgiving. They may not have food on the table, so for us it wasn’t a question of, ‘are we going to serve?’ Just how are we going to serve and make sure those that come are safe as possible,” said Doug Smith, with Light of Life.

Volunteers got to the mission bright and early to prepare for the big day of giving. They’re using heated tents outdoors to prepare and store the food.

Below is a breakdown of how the day is scheduled: