Deep East Texas organization to offer Thanksgiving meal for families in need

LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - The Blessing Bags for Nacogdoches and Angelina Counties is hosting their annual Thanksgiving Outreach and Meal at the Memorial Baptist Church in Lufkin.

This free event provides meals and items for people in need. Every year Blessing Bags for Nacogdoches and Angelina Counties goes from Nacogdoches to Lufkin. Stephanie Hess is the Founder and Director.

“This year for Thanksgiving, we’re doing Lufkin and, so what we’ll do is provide a Thanksgiving meal,” said Hess.

“The meal is going to be chicken and dressing with green beans, mash potatoes, gravy, rolls provided by Grandos, and then we have pies; pumpkin and sweet potato pies,” said Hess.

She said they plan to feed two hundred people, but they’ll still have extra to give.

“They’re welcome to sit here and eat, or they can take it to go. We’ll also be going to encampments, all the parks and to a hotel that’s well known here in Lufkin,” said Hess.

Volunteer Katy Ames said having been homeless herself gave her motivation to get involved and help the community.

“I just want to be able to touch as many people as we can. I don’t want anybody feeling like they don’t have a family, or they don’t have a place to go, or they don’t have the means to provide for their kids a nice holiday meal,” said Ames.

Hess said those who need additional help, can fill out a form.

“It’s nothing big time asking, it’s are you sheltered, are you unsheltered. If we find out that they’re unsheltered, then what we do is we’ll pull them to the side, we’ll take them back to our office and where our storage room is where we have all the bags and we’ll ask them what they need, and then that way we’ll provide it for them,” said Hess.

Some of those items include; a tent, sleeping bag, a coat and more.

The event will happen between 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Memorial Baptist Church on 904 North John Reddit Drive in Lufkin.

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