Watch CBS News

Thousands Of Needy Families Fed At Annual Thanksgiving Meal In Anaheim

ANAHEIM (CBSLA.com) — Thousands of needy families across Southern California were happily fed Thursday at an annual holiday meal hosted at the Honda Center.

According to the We Give Thanks Foundation, this year's celebration marks the 28th year that Frank Garcia hosted the event for about 15,000 people.

"I'm so, so thankful this year for my health," Garcia said.

CBS2's Michele Gile spoke with volunteers, who worked tirelessly to provide meals for the four hour feast.

"We've been coming for about 10 years," said volunteer Bob Purcifull. "I think that hopefully, with all the good work Frank does, he's taught out kids to give back."

Several famous faces were seen in the crowd volunteering, such as Angels pitcher CJ Wilson.

"There's a lot of young volunteers here getting involved," Wilson explained. "I think it's a great thing."

Cooking began midweek in order to have all of the food prepared and ready to go for today's big feast.

Volunteers explained the remote kitchen opened in the parking lot of the Honda Center at 1:00 a.m.

Garcia told Gile he plans to deliver any left over food to local churches in the area.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.