Friendsgiving dinner in Boston hopes to change perception of former prison inmates
BOSTON - Chef Chris Faison is passionate about second chances and he's trying to change people's perceptions about those who have been in prison.
He's organizing a Friendsgiving dinner this weekend in South Boston to help people change their views and help his workers.
"I'm in the jail four days a week. There are some amazing people in there who just made silly mistakes," Faison told WBZ-TV.
Faison works with a re-entry program, teaching culinary skills to those that have been incarcerated.
"The point of this is to let people know they're just people too, trying to get back. Trying to get back to the next thing and the point of this is to bring them back so people see them (for) who they really are, not who they were," he said.
"I want to let people know that if you come out of jail. you are still a person. These people are still people. They just want to get their lives together and move forward and that's why it comes down to food, because food brings everything full circle to me."
So, this Saturday, he's hosting Friendsgiving, their spin on Thanksgiving, at the Lithuanian Kitchen on West Broadway in South Boston.
"What I want to do is I want to take this food that originally came from the land that's major to Thanksgiving like venison and oysters and squash, stuff that was from the land and turn Thanksgiving back to really what it was," Faison said.
There's also a little secret. Faison is giving all the money raised from the event to his workers.
"They don't know, it's a surprise," he told WBZ. "I want to make them feel special."
For ticket information, click here.
