INDIANAPOLIS — This Thanksgiving, we're reminded that not all families are fortunate enough to afford a warm meal.
A local non profit is continuing a five decades-long tradition of feeding hungry Hoosiers during the holidays.
Volunteers with the Mozel Sanders Foundation will serve 11,000 meals to families in need on Thursday.
Crews arrived to the kitchen at around 3 a.m. to crack open cans and heat up the ovens.
This year marks a return to Butler University as their main hub.
“Covid. It was Covid. The university just didn’t wanna take the risk of having all the people here under really close conditions and then having to sanitize everything for when the students came back," Spokesperson Dawn Jordan Jones said. "We’re fortunate and grateful to be back at Butler."
In its 52 years, the Mozel Sanders Foundation has fed over a million people. It's one of the largest and longest running family-owned Thanksgiving meal giveaways in the country.
“We start planning at the beginning of the year," CEO Stephen Sanders said. "We like to know where our chicken is coming from, what product we’re gonna use, how can we make the meal better."
Here’s an idea of the scope: 2,000 volunteers prepare 5,000 lbs of chicken; 2500 pounds of dressing; 156 gallons of gravy and more.
“Mozel Sanders (was) a prominent pastor here in the city. He used to pastor Mount Vernon Community Missionary Baptist Church," Sanders said. "It started where he just fed a few people that showed up on Thanksgiving day. Next year they brought more friends. It grew into something bigger than what he imagined
And the goodwill doesn't stop after turkey day is over.
The Mozel Sanders Foundation works throughout the year to help the Indianapolis community by giving away groceries twice a month at Mt. Vernon Community Missionary Baptist Church, 709 N. Belmont Avenue.
