St. Augustine homeless have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving

Volunteers are preparing food for the homeless just in time for Thursday’s Thanksgiving Feast.

The St. Francis House shelter and soup kitchen will serve a free Thanksgiving dinner starting at 12 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

“It will be a typical Thanksgiving meal,” said Renee Morris, executive director of the St. Francis House. “We’ll serve Turkey, stuffing, gravy, dessert and all the fixings along with lots of care and love.”

St. Francis House is celebrating its 25th year in operation and will be serving its 25th Thanksgiving dinner.

Phil King, the case manager for St. Francis House, said that he is expecting close to 100 guests for dinner on Thursday.

“A lot of food is donated specifically for Thanksgiving,” said King. “We had one person donate 25 turkeys.” King added that St. Francis House has more than 40 turkeys for Thursday’s feast.

Financial support for the St. Francis House is predominantly made possible through individual donors. “We receive food and monetary donations – they’re about half and half,” said King.

Cooking for the Thanksgiving Feast began on Nov. 23.

Employees and volunteers at the St. Francis House are here to help the less fortunate by relieving hunger and suffering.

Marcus Scoggins, 57, a patron of the St. Francis House, is thankful that he’ll have a place to spend Thanksgiving Day.

“I’m thankful for this place - the people, the food,” said Scoggins.

“A lot of these people have either burnt their bridges with their families or have lost them,” said Morris. “Holidays are really hard on a lot of people – they get emotional.”

The majority of St. Francis House patrons have nowhere else to go.

“They need a place they feel safe and secure,” said Morris. “We’re all a family here, maybe a dysfunctional family, but we’re a family.”

The St. Francis House is located on 70 Washington St. If you would like to help out, call 904-829-8937.

Employees and volunteers of the St. Francis House are thankful for the generosity the community has shown for the Thanksgiving Day feast, and hopes that it will continue into the new year.

“The holidays really bring out the kindness of people,” said Morris. “But people tend to forget that we serve 365 days out of the year.”