Meals in Roosevelt let needy share in Thanksgiving

Herbert Guzman sat eating a large helping of turkey, green beans and stuffing. His son, Aaron, 2, was next to him, sucking a chocolate lollipop and watching closely as volunteers for Harvest for the World, a soup kitchen in Roosevelt, bustled about the room carrying food, drinks and candy.

Guzman, a single father who is unemployed, was among several dozen people who crowded into a small Roosevelt home Thursday for the organization's 11th annual Thanksgiving dinner.

"A lot of families don't have the resources to make dinner themselves," said Guzman, 39, of East Meadow. "I didn't know if I was going to have a Thanksgiving. This here is extra special. They treat us like family."

The holiday meal was one of two separate events in Roosevelt where organizers said they were happy to offer help to people in need. At the other one, hosted in I Support Roosevelt Youth Center, several people feasted on stuffing and macaroni and cheese while also picking up donated clothes.

At Harvest for the World, crowds of people hovered over plates of sweet potatoes and chocolate cake while others listened to music or the sounds from the active kitchen. The Thanksgiving dinner seemed more like a family gathering than a special holiday meal as people laughed and embraced throughout the day.

Francis Rustin, 62, who lives at a shelter in Roosevelt, said the dinner was his only chance for a warm meal among smiling faces. "It's hard to put into words," he said. "I'm blessed that I have somewhere to sit down and eat."

Joanna Bell-Richards, executive director of Harvest for the World, said she and her husband, Ricky, paid for the dinner out of their own pockets.

"We are a family," she said. "It's our responsibility to take care of each other."

Nearby at I Support Roosevelt Youth Center, Pastor Arthur Mackey, a leader at Mount Sinai Baptist Church Cathedral, one of the event's sponsors, said they expected to feed more than 300 people by the end of the day. This was also their 11th annual meal. "It's important to do this every year because a lot of people are hurting," Mackey said.

Keith Mig, one of several people who stopped by the center, was smiling as he carried away a plate of food and a bag of donated clothes. Mig said he survives on a fixed income and lives in a rooming house in Roosevelt. "I think it's wonderful for the people in the community," he said. "Everybody is struggling right now."

A few feet away, Que Woods, 47, of Roosevelt happily ate a meal at one of center's tables. "There are a lot of people trying to make it on their own, but it's hard," he said. "These people giving back are keeping the community whole. It shows that people care."

At another Thanksgiving event, more than a dozen New York Institute of Technology students sat around a long table at SUNY Old Westbury eating turkey, ham and apple pie provided by their school, which is nearby.

Some were international students, while others were students were away from home for Thanksgiving.

Derrol Rhodes, NYIT's director of housing and residential life, said it was the first time the school has provided Thanksgiving dinner for students. The school's cafeteria is closed for the holiday weekend, and students at the dinner said they would have had to buy food if a meal had not been provided.

Wei Chen Chen, 22, from a town in southeast China, is a communication arts major who has been studying at NYIT for three months. He said he didn't know the meaning of Thanksgiving.

"I only know we should eat turkey," he said as relished the food on his plate. "I think it's very delicious."

Amr Morsy, 23, a third-year architecture student, also attended the dinner. "It's an amazing experience," he said. "It's good to get the community together for a different activity."

Freshman Kayla Miller, 18, of Philadelphia, also an architecture student, said she decided to stay at NYIT for the holiday weekend because she has a lot of work to do.

She said she appreciated the gesture of the dinner.

"It's a good feeling that other people in your school care about you," Miller said.