YORK, Pa. — The kitchen was bustling at LifePath Christian Ministries in York on Wednesday, as final preparations were made for the nonprofit's big Thanksgiving dinner.
“Thus far we’ve cooked, I lost track, I think between 55 and 62 turkeys, over 500 pounds of combined potatoes, both sweet and mashed potatoes," said Kevin Scritchfield, director of food services for LifePath.
Over 60 volunteers are helping to prepare food for 1,100 people, a significant increase from last year.
“I live on service work, I love giving back to the community," said Tom Stauffer, dinner chef at LifePath. "This isn’t the only thing I do to give back.”
Chef Stauffer says their work provides so much for those struggling with homelessness.
“I’ve been in that position myself before," he told FOX43. "Sometimes people just want a good meal. When you’re beaten up and life’s happening, sometimes a good meal is just enough to put a smile on your face.”
LifePath expects about 800 people to sit down for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. It will also be handing out over 200 to-go meals for people in the community. Volunteers will also deliver meals to first responders across the York area.
“We’ve been doing 12 to 14-hour days for a week and a half and just [to] see them leave knowing we care and with a full belly, it makes it all worthwhile," Scritchfield said.
It’s something LifePath wouldn’t be able to do without the community, which Schritchfield says has donated a lot of the food.
“I think we ended up with almost 150 turkeys donated between the community members, church members and local organizations," he said.
Scritchfield tells FOX43 it's a true testament to the village it takes in the fight against homelessness.
“This isn’t just a [City of] York issue, it’s a York County issue and it’s not a LifePath issue, homelessness is a community issue and it takes everybody," he said.
