ATLANTA — The work to plan a largescale meal distribution starts months in advance.
Chef Tim Morgan, founder of Aprons for Change, said it's taken three days to collect food through purchases and donations to prepare for nonprofit Hosea Helps to hand out to the hungry and homeless.
"We’re in production of fulfilling the orders for the 1,200 meals to be distributed on the streets and senior high-rise buildings across Metro Atlanta," Morgan said. “When life hits and things happen, we have to understand these are temporary moments and we have to take our innate ability we have about pressing forward and the ability to do well and keep pushing.”
From midnight to 7:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, volunteers packed trays with over 1,500 pounds of seasoned, sliced turkey, hundreds of pounds of dressing and over a thousand lbs. each of yams and green beans. Businesses and corporations donated much of the food.
Hosea Helps has been feeding the hungry and homeless for over 50 years. COO Afemo Omilami said the work is inspired by the civil rights leaders who paved the way to help those in need.
“These people gave everything, and we ride off that energy," Omilami said. "I think that’s what keeps us powerful and moving forward because it was about the people. That’s what we give back.”
Omilami said the face of hungriness and homelessness has changed over the years. The diversity in the people served each subsequent Thanksgiving becomes more pronounced, he noted.
"Black, white, brown, red, a mixture of all kinds of people," Omilami said. "Poor, working poor, lower middle-class, middle-class people. The range has increased now because of what’s going on in our society. It’s no longer you look at someone and say they’re homeless; that person isn’t. You can’t even tell nowadays. The person working next to you in that cubicle they’re hungry too. Nobody knows it. They don’t want to let people know. It’s all around us now.”
Morgan knows better than anyone how easy it is to find oneself without a home and wondering where their next meal may come from. In 2012, he became homeless. That led to a spiral of depression before Morgan rediscovered his dream. With only an eighth-grade education and a little guidance from people around him, he started his own catering company.
“It’s an unwavering commitment I made with God and the universe to make sure these things happen because I know what it looks like to have absolutely nothing, and I also know what it looks like to have everything you know," Morgan said. "It’s just a pouring back, remembering those I left behind in the streets during my period of homelessness.”
Morgan said setting aside time to feed those in need is time invested, not wasted. This marks the second year Morgan has participated in cooking the food for Hosea Helps's Thanksgiving meal distribution.
“We’re hoping it not only hits their belly, but it hits their soul, reminding them people are here for them, even in the midst of a series of life's misfortunes," Morgan said. "What it looks like when we’re able to stand in the gap, build a bridge, iron sharpens iron and be the pillar for the community. We’re all here to help.”
The meals will be distributed at the following locations in Atlanta:
- Lillie Campbell Senior House at 11 a.m.
1836 Campbellton Road, Atlanta, GA 30311 - Wheat Street Towers at noon
375 Auburn Ave., Atlanta, GA 30312 - Branon Towers at 1 p.m.
1200 Glenwood Ave. SE, Atlanta, GA 30316
Anyone interested in volunteering in the meal distribution efforts can call 404-641-0972 or click here.