> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Feast of friends - URL: https://www.smdp.com/feast-of-friends/ - Published: 2006-11-23T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T23:09:20.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Community, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless *Parishes, providers get jump on holiday* CITYWIDE — The spirit of Thanksgiving oftentimes comes early to the less fortunate. For the past 27 years,Saint Monica Parish Community on California Avenue has opened its doors on the eve of Thanksgiving Day, as they did Wednesday, to about 900 people, many of whom are homeless, feeding them the traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings and providing a cozy familial environment. The festive feeding is a long-time tradition for many of the homeless population who come to Saint Monica each year, said Pastoral Associate Delis Alejandro. The parish is just one of many churches and non-profit social service agencies that provide a warm Thanksgiving meal to those who do not have the means to cook or pay for one themselves. The annual dinner at Saint Monica is a parish community event that draws 400 volunteers annually. The dinner, which can serve up to 1,000 mouths, involves the church at all levels, from the adults who prepare and donate the turkeys, to the Saint Monica schools students who donate canned goods, to the parishioners who donate clothing to give to the guests who visit their “boutique” after they eat. “The whole idea that it takes a village,well it takes a parish,” Alejandro said on Wednesday. “\[The church\] is wonderfully chaotic.” Not all guests are necessarily homeless, Alejandro said. In fact, day laborers have increasingly appeared at the dinner in recent years. The dinner also attracts a small number of senior citizens who don’t want to spend the holidays by themselves. “There have been more people working recently,” Alejandro said. “On the other hand, we’ve been hearing about layoffs.” The Wednesday before Thanksgiving seems to be a popular day for non-profits to host holiday meals. Ocean Park Community Center on Seventh Street hosted a lunch for about 500 people from 9 a.m. to noon. “People look forward to this,” said Debby Maddis, associate director of Ocean Park Community Center. “It’s a big event.” Thanks to volunteers and donations from families and restaurants, OPCC has been able to feed the homeless during the holidays for the past 40 years. Thanksgiving is a three-day event at St. Joseph’s Center in Venice, which served meals from Monday to Wednesday at Bread and Roses Cafe in Venice. On Tuesday, St. Joseph’s Center also handed out frozen turkeys and bags of food to more than 300 families with the help of the Los Angeles Clippers. The center has chosen not to offer meals on Thanksgiving Day, leaving it up to other social service providers to serve on the holiday. Several Westside agencies, including Westside Shelter & Hunger Coalition and Children’s Life Saving Foundation, both of which are located in Santa Monica, will send their clients to the House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard for a Thanksgiving meal today. Approximately 1,000 pounds of turkey will be prepared to feed between 800 and 1,000 people who are expected to show up early in the morning. The tradition dates back to when the first House of Blues in Cambridge, Mass., opened on Thanksgiving Day in 1992. “The very first thing that venue did before opening to the public was invite homeless in for Thanksgiving Day,” said Dave Fortin, director of marketing of the House of Blues. “It’s a tribute back to the opening day. “It’s a great way to give back to the community.” While most agencies serve a cooked meal, some choose to leave the food preparation to the families. Heartfelt Foundation on Wilshire Boulevard, a nonprofit providing food and supplies to needy individuals, handed out food baskets to approximately 200 people in need on Saturday. Each person received two or three large baskets of food donated by people in the community. “Many received food to last them through the winter,” said Patty Reiner, executive director of Heartfelt Foundation. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 23, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/112306.pdf?ref=smdp.com)