Los Angeles Mission feeds thousands on Skid Row Thanksgiving meals and more

Thanksgiving came a day early at the Los Angeles Mission in downtown LA, where a team of volunteers served 4,000 turkey dinners Wednesday morning to those living along Skid Row.

The annual Thanksgiving outreach took weeks to prepare and offered more than just food.  

"We serve a meal, but we serve so much more here. We do serve up hope here," said Troy Vaughn, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Mission.

He said there was a clothing boutique, a healthcare tent, a grooming tent, a service connection to housing, and more. The organization also uses the event as an opportunity to connect with the community.

"We're going to have data runners running around capturing demographic information on their age, their ethnicity, and their background and making sure that we are connecting them -- to whether its housing, employment opportunities, family reunification, relocation services if they want to go back home to where their family is," Vaughn said.

Executive chef of the LA Mission, Erik Grant said it's personal, as he once was homeless.

"Here at the LA Mission, we not only believe that there's hope in a meal, but we also believe in helping to restore people, but also to end the cycle of homelessness," he said.

Aside from the turkey, the kitchen was bustling preparing 1,000 pounds of macaroni, 90 gallons of cranberry sauce, 1,200 pounds of collard greens, and 90 gallons of gravy – all donated by Restaurant Depot.

"Whenever we can, we like to be part of the solution, so we're putting it here for show," Tony Year, vice president of Restaurant Depot said.