At Fair Park Saturday, volunteers treated 10,000 people to a hot holiday meal for the 17 annual Central Market/HEB Feast of Sharing.
Employees and community members dished up 2,500 pounds of brisket, 2,000 pounds of sausage, and slices from 1,250 pumpkin pies to serve to neighbors in need.
“All of the families are able to come. There’s so much from social services to be able to help people who might be in need over the next few months get through the holidays, and then we have a great children’s area for the kids to visit Santa, face painting, all kinds of activities,” said Senior Director of Public Affairs Mabrie Jackson.
Dallas is among more than 30 stops across Texas and Mexico that HEB’s mobile kitchens will travel to throughout November and December.
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For many, it’s become a holiday tradition, like Donna Allen, who brings the transitional housing residents she works with.
“Fellowship, the food, the activities,” said Allen.
This year, she had her family in tow for the first time.
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“We can have a good meal, so we don’t have to worry about lunch today,” she said.
Earlier this week, Feast of Sharing stopped in Fort Worth, where leaders from the Tarrant Area Food Bank said they’ve been looking for ways to be more agile and creative as COVID-era assistance winds down and inflation exacerbates need.
“We’re experiencing a perfect storm right now,” said Chief External Affairs Officer Stephen Raeside.
Saturday, Central Market prepared to feed double the number of families as it did at last year’s feast.
That’s partly due to moving the event to a Saturday but also the continued rebound from a pandemic-induced pause.
“We need to look inward and say what can I do to help because there’s so much need just in our local community, and our businesses can really make a difference,” said Jackson.
Feast of Sharing will feed more than 340,000 people by the end of the year.
