TAMPA, Fla. — Many people will spend this Thanksgiving around the table with family and friends, but for others, a hot meal is what they're grateful for this holiday.
"I'm by myself, and I thought it would be a good idea to be around people," said Tara Wiener.
Wiener was just one of the dozens who turned out for a hot meal in downtown Tampa on Thanksgiving Day.
"Different situations, but everybody's having a good time," said Wiener. "I'm just grateful for that."
Metropolitan Ministries helped provide over 3,600 hot Thanksgiving meals on Thursday.
Getting all that food on the table took lots of hard work and an early morning. Staff started meal prep in the Metro Ministries kitchen at 4:00 am.
Brensey Thompson, the Director of Marketing for Metropolitan Ministries, said they've seen an increase in need this year.
"I think we take for granted that you can just have a holiday meal, but for some people, that meal is hope for them because it came from someone who truly cared about them," said Thompson.
Feeding Tampa Bay also gave back to those in need on the holiday. On Thursday, the organization served about 1,000 people.
"So many people are struggling right now, whether you're homeless, whether you're a single family, or you're a dual income family, and we're able to help them, and every thank you is a treasure," said Shannon Hannon Oliviero with Feeding Tampa Bay.
To give back also requires many helping hands. Rick Alvarez and his family spent the morning volunteering their time, giving a glimpse at how the community came together in more ways than one to serve and share this Thanksgiving.
"Thankful that we have the opportunity to do something like this, and thankful that we can spend our time giving back to the community," said Alvarez.
