Thursday marks 50th year for South Side Mission Thanksgiving food delivery

PEORIA (25 NEWS) - A Thanksgiving tradition is reaching a milestone this year in Peoria. This Thursday will mark the 50th year the South Side Mission has delivered meals to people in the River City on the holiday.

The preparation always starts on the Monday before the holiday with cranberry, rolls and pumpkin pies. On Monday, they prepared about 200 pies.

However, this tradition is more than just food.

“A lot of these people may either be shut ins or they are alone during the holidays so it’s nice not to just deliver the meal but to also a little visit, a little conversation.. maybe some prayer to someone that’s feeling lonely. It’s just really a blessing,” said Development Manager Rich Draeger.

It takes about 600 volunteers to make it all happen, from the first ingredient to the last delivery.