ATLANTA — An army of volunteers gathered in downtown Atlanta Thursday for the Hosea Feed the Hungry Thanksgiving dinner.
The annual event has been feeding the homeless a Thanksgiving meal for nearly 50 years.
Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach was at the Georgia World Congress Center, where mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms, Hosea Helps CEO Elisabeth Omilami, former Hawks player Dikembe Mutombo and other Atlanta figures kicked off the event.
"We are so very fortunate in so many ways to have an organization like this that thinks about the least of these in our community, those really struggling just for the day to day basics and not just today but every day. It's an honor to join them,” Bottoms said.
Along with a meal, recipients can get a haircut and clothing, free healthcare and employment assistance.
Men, women, young, old, mothers, fathers and kids -- some homeless, some living in in hotels or shelters and others just down on their luck -- filled the ballroom Thursday.
RELATED STORIES:
- Officer Matt Cooper talks for 1st time about his recovery in emotional interview
- Father questions motive in pregnant teen's shooting death
- Young boy killed, another hurt after car crashes into home
"It's really heartwarming to be a part of this," Katrina Bryant said. Bryant came to Atlanta last month with her 5-year-old son and it staying in a Salvation Army shelter.
"Somewhere good to be for the holidays, a really good place to be," she said.
This year, Omilami had to find a new place to cook the food and Atlanta let them use the city jail.
With the need greater than ever, the organization itself now finds itself homeless.
"If we don't move into it very soon, we will run out of cash,” Omilami said.
Working out of temporary warehouses, they've bought a new property, but need funding to move in.
Mrs. O is reaching out to everyone from City of Atlanta to construction companies to other non-profits.
"If you ever thought of Hosea before, now we need you more than ever,” she said.
They don't want this thanksgiving tradition of caring and service to end, and in a new facility could help even more people.