‘People have something to eat,’ Community comes together to serve 300 Thanksgiving meals in Pueblo

PUEBLO — The Bessemer Wellness Center opened its doors Thursday as a line of people awaited a warm holiday meal during the Feast of Hope, a free Thanksgiving Day meal for anyone in Pueblo.

"The excitement and smiles on people's faces was huge," said Lori Stalcar with SoCo Harm Reduction.

Volunteers filled trays with food as people loaded up their plates with Thanksgiving favorites. The event welcomed anyone in the community, whether they had homes or were simply alone for the holiday.

"There's lots of people out there who have homes or who are doing just fine who maybe are alone today. So we really did just open up the invite to anyone that wanted to participate," Stalcar said.

For many attendees, this marked a significant moment of connection.

"For some of these folks, this is the first time in a long time they've actually been eating inside with other people," Stalcar said. "So it's really exciting to hear all the chatter. It's great to hear the conversation and just people engaging with maybe somebody they didn't think they would talk to."

The event began after Pueblo mom Leilani Ricardo saw a need for a Thanksgiving Day feast in the community.

"So I was just seeing a need, filling a need, and everybody just came together. I mean, Frank's donated 24 turkeys. I mean, Lori donated the space, resources. I mean, Ethos, Commissary Kitchen, Steel City Cafe is the chef running the kitchen," Ricardo said.

Ricardo said she could not have accomplished this without volunteers lending a helping hand this Thanksgiving.

"We want people to know that we see them where they are and we don't ask them to change. We just give them the services that they need," Ricardo said.
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