Father Joe’s Villages service to homeless

Father Joe’s Villages distribute Thanksgiving dinner. (Father Joe's Villages FB page)

The tradition of serving the homeless lives on, Father Joe's Villages gives out turkeys and mashed potatoes as an early Thanksgiving dinner.

Food, Holiday Care Package for the Unsheltered, Homeless

Volunteers and staff at Father Joe's Villages cooked and served an early Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday San Diegans experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. On a CBS8 report, Deacon Jim Vargas shared that the homeless center had pounds and pounds of turkey and mashed potato.

The CEO of Father Joe's Villages stated that it's wonderful to bring people together. Aside from the early Thanksgiving dinner, the homeless will receive a gift bag of socks, hygiene products, and other essentials.

The deacon further emphasized that while a hot meal and fresh socks are nice, it's temporary.

Vargas stated that days like these highlight the pressing problem of homelessness in the streets of San Diego.

Meanwhile, news organizations have been covering Father Joe's legacy of serving the homeless regularly. Father Joe has become an icon of generosity and service in San Diego.

KPBS reported that Father Joe's Villages' kitchen prepares meals three times a day for its clients. This Thanksgiving dinner is no different in terms of the quality of food.

Helen Coyne, the culinary instructor at the center, shared how it feels to serve the homeless. For Coyne, it's nostalgic and makes her feel good. She hoped that the Thanksgiving dinner would bring back good memories for the homeless and others experiencing food insecurity.

Coyne also shared that it was scratch cooking. The turkeys were deboned, roasted off, and sliced by hand. The Thanksgiving dinner was a festive meal with mashed potatoes, turkey, gravy, and sumptuous berry pie.

This dinner provided important nutrition to such a vulnerable population.

Meals are individually packed in to-go boxes, unlike the previous years, where the clients enjoyed a sit–down meal.

Deacon Vargas said that they expected around 700 – 1,000 guests to join them for the to-go Thanksgiving dinner. He told KPBS that the people they serve, especially those on the streets, feel isolated. The pandemic made it worse, and Father Joe's Villages made them feel loved and that they have a family.

Vargas also emphasized that the organization cares for the well-being of this population.

Additionally, the holiday care package includes sunglasses to protect the eyes.

Father Joe's Villages

This non-profit organization, San Diego's largest homeless services provider, has been empowering people to achieve self–sufficiency for more than seven decades.

Its extra temporary shelter helps the city's homeless population when there is cold and rain. According to an interview on Great.com, Father Joe's Villages seeks to end homeless and has been doing so for 71 years.

In the U.S, San Diego has the fifth largest homeless population. Moreover, at any given night, there are around 8,000 individuals that do not have homes. What makes it worse is half of this number are unsheltered and are roaming around the city to look for a place to settle down for the night.

Deacon Vargas explained to Great.com that a bit of help could go a long way, and a decent shelter can make some of these individuals rise against their plight. He also stated that Father Joe's Villages' end goal is to help these people find permanent housing.