Portland Christian Group Serving More Than 400 Free Meals on Thanksgiving Day

A Christian organization in Oregon will be serving more than 400 free meals to people in need on Thanksgiving Day.

The Union Gospel Mission (UGM) in Portland, a group that provides over 200,000 meals to people experiencing homelessness and to those in need, will be serving 450 free meals to individuals in need beginning at 10:00 a.m., according to KATU News .

Throughout the week, roughly 1,100 meals will be served to those in need.

"Serving a meal on Thanksgiving Day has been a long standing tradition at Union Gospel Mission," Courtney Dodds, the Communications Director for UGM told IJR in a statement.

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The meal will include "traditional favorites" such as turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy, stuffing cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and other items, UGM said.

Dodds explained to IJR that UGM usually "sees several hundred people" during each holiday and serves meals "five days a week" over the course of the year.

In preparation for the Thanksgiving event, chefs with UGM have reportedly cooked roughly 95 turkeys and roughly 300 pounds of mashed potatoes.

Additionally, meals will also be served during the week through the use of UGM's Search + Rescue outreach. UGM's Search + Rescue van drives to homeless encampments in greater Portland to provide individuals with coffee, socks, and hygienic items, according to UGM's website .

Since 2017, homelessness in the United States has been on the rise. In 2022 alone, roughly 421,392 people were reported to have experienced homelessness, while roughly 127,768 people were chronically homeless, or had experienced homelessness for at least a year, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.