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Boyce Boggs did not leave a piece of food on his plate while he was enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday with other people at the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen.
More than 2,000 meals were served to people throughout the city. Some meals were even delivered at home for those who could not go to South Forest Street.
Boggs went alone to the kitchen, but he found himself surrounded by new friends that he had just met. He had nowhere else to spend his holidays and appreciated that volunteers take the time to help others.
"You can not complain about a free meal," Boggs said. "I can feel the love in what they do."
For Boggs, the holidays are even more special since the day of his wedding in 1994. He grew up in poverty, but as a child, he always knew that at least on Thanksgiving day, his family would have a big meal.
The range of food products has evolved rapidly, with volunteers serving turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and green cabbage. The meal was not complete without a cup of sweaty tea. Ron and Jill Ellis of Boiling Springs were among the volunteers in the food chain.
"It's hard to find words about what it's like to be part of that," said Ron Ellis. "We wanted to come here and give back because we are so blessed."
Patricia Gheeks of Spartanburg, one of the many clients, is always looking forward to Thanksgiving Day and enjoyed being with others.
"I'm grateful to the soup kitchen that puts this on us every year," said Gheeks. "It means a lot, they are so nice."
Gheeks said that she had particularly enjoyed ham and stuffing this year.
The veteran of the US Army Jean Durocher was visiting Spartanburg and decided to spend his holidays in the kitchen. He said that no matter the economic status of people, they were there to celebrate holidays.
"We are all tied here for a good meal," said Durocher.
The preparations for the day began last week when thousands of cans were delivered to the kitchen. Volunteers started cooking and settling on Thursday at 4 am, while the food chain was forming at 10 o'clock. Over the next two hours, thousands of people were served.
Families were able to take their pictures and frame them to remember their time together at the kitchen for the holidays. Stuffed animals were also distributed to the children.
"Seeing people smile and being so grateful for what we have done for them is a joy for us," said Lou Sartor, executive director of the kitchen. "It was important to us that everyone be fed today, and we had a lot of new volunteers this year."
The kitchen has set up Christmas decorations Wednesday night for the next big holiday.
"With the Christmas tree and crowns in place, we are in Christmas mode," said Sartor. "We could have more families on Christmas day."
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