City Mission sets meals record

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The Buffalo City Mission prepared a record number of meals for delivery on this Thanksgiving Day.

It's a "Mission of Joy" that puts families to work.

The needs of the needy are growing in Western New York, but so is the dire to help.

3,500 meals, donated food prepared at the Buffalo City Mission, are on their way to families who might otherwise not have a Thanksgiving dinner.

Aubrey Calhoun of the Buffalo City Mission said, "Our goal is to make sure no one goes hungry for Thanksgiving, so that's what we're trying to do."

To try and help reach that goal, families from all over western New York show up at the City Mission to deliver the food.

The Higgins family came in from the Village of Hamburg. It's their first time volunteering for this.

The first stop was at public housing on Perry Street. How would they be received? They soon found out when the elevator door first opened.

A housing tenant they were visiting, greeted them with a hearty, "Happy gobble gobble day to ya all! Somebody is about to be blessed and happy, and that is so beautify. Oh my God!"

Richard Epps, another housing tenant, said, "I got nothing to eat."

Richard Epps, who can no longer work because of a back injury, was the first to be blessed and happy with the visit by the Higgins. He'll share his meals with with friends and family.

"I've got a lot of friends on the east side coming over," said Epps.

It's been a quiet existence too, for Edna Ralls, who worked since she was 11 as a cook, but now can't use her hands.

She was so grateful for the visit.

"I'm getting a lot of joy out of this. I can just reach out reach out, because I can touch his hand, 'cause I see it all through ya," said Ralls.

There was a lot of joy to go around.

"She worked all her life and I think that's good, and now she needs help, and we're here to help her," said Julia Higgins.

"She's very strong, and you can tell she's very happy, ya know. She doesn't let her sorrows get in the way of her day," added Sean Higgins.

Ralls said, "Keep the good works of the Lord going."