Various events held to provide food to the less fortunate on Thanksgiving

LOS ANGELES - Thousands of homeless and needy people and families were being treated to free Thanksgiving meals Wednesday during the annual holiday feast at the Los Angeles  Mission along skid row, while volunteers at the nearby Fred Jordan Mission prepared to serve thousands more tomorrow.

In an annual tradition of feeding the less fortunate, dozens of volunteers descended on the Los Angeles Mission for the annual Thanksgiving event to help prepare and serve meals. The homeless will also be provided with socks, hygiene kits and blankets during the event.

Volunteers will also help wash the feet of the homeless.

The annual Los Angeles Mission event is one of several planned over the holidays to help provide some holiday cheer to the homeless or food- challenged.

At the nearby Fred Jordan Mission, volunteers will spend Wednesday cooking and preparing food for its 75th Annual Traditional Thanksgiving Banquet & Birthday Party, which will be held Thursday.

According to the mission, volunteers will serve more than one ton of turkey, 525 pounds of stuffing, 500 pounds of mashed potatoes -- with 80 gallons of gravy, 400 pounds of corn, 500 pounds of candied yams and hundreds of pumpkin pies.

The banquet at the mission, at Towne Avenue and East Fifth Street, will begin at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, and "rainy day gift bags" will be handed out that include blankets, snacks and hygiene kits.

Meanwhile, an estimated 2,000 volunteers -- including Mayor Eric Garcetti -- gathered Wednesday morning at the Hollywood offices of the charitable group Big Sunday for its annual Big Thanksgiving Stuffing Event.

According to Big Sunday, the organization will distribute 3,000 bags of Thanksgiving food to families, including victims of domestic violence, runaway teens, seniors, veterans, the homeless, sick and working poor.