901 Now: Memphians prepare to feed the community for Thanksgiving

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - In the 901 Now, several groups are working to make sure families have food for the holidays.

MemFeast, a collaboration between Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, the City of Memphis, and Shelby County, is changing this year.

After five years of tradition, the annual MemFeast event will not only fill stomachs... but pantries.

“We hope that this year, those families will not just feel good will, but will meet their deepest need during this week, and I hope it will raise the profile of this issue,” Pastor J. Lawrence Turner said.

Bags and boxes filled with food necessities are headed to more than 500 homes throughout Memphis and the Mid-South.

“We’ll have some of the Thanksgiving usuals in there, but will also have food that will allow people to navigate through this week,” Turner said.

Typically, a Thanksgiving Day pickup that would feed thousands for the day will now, concentrating on those most in need, last for the entire week.

“Concentrating on families and households with multiple children,” Turner said. “So we won’t be able to touch the thousands that we’ve done in the years past, but I think the impact will mean a whole lot to the homes that we are serving.”

This year will have a different impact, but the same mission.

“Food insecurity continues to be a challenge in Memphis, Shelby County and the Mid-South,” he added. “And in this week particularly, when children are out of school, those who depend on the free breakfast or lunch programs, they don’t have access to those meals, so we wanted to be a blessing beyond the day.”

This year’s event was spread out across three days.

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