BUFFALO, N.Y. — We're celebrating Western New York with a massive undertaking going on at St. Luke's Mission of Mercy.
The church is full of food right now. It’s food that will feed thousands of families this Thanksgiving.
When Nancy Polino started volunteering at St. Luke's Mission of Mercy almost 20 years ago, the Thanksgiving meal program fed 1,500 families. Now, it feeds 2,700.
"Everyone is so thankful when they get these three bags of groceries. They're just so thankful. If you could just see them, and they're just like you and I, and so, I feel like a little piece of everybody who has worked on this becomes a piece of their Thanksgiving," Polino said.
Saturday morning, 700 volunteers will fill St. Luke's to fill 8,100 bags with donated food to be given out next week.
"Buffalo has a poor community. You know, third or fourth poorest always advertised everywhere in the nation. It may be poor financially, but the hearts in Buffalo are not poor. They're generous. They're open. They're rich and willing to help each other and, I'm telling you, it's a beautiful, beautiful thing when you see it," Polino said.
Students who volunteer end up coming back year after year, and for Nancy, the anticipation of watching the giving spirit of our community come alive this week is like what she experienced on Christmas Eve as a child.
"The feeling is unbelievable, so right now, and the peace and quiet of the church and the beauty of the altar here, it's just so blessed. It's just a humbling feeling that I can't even describe," Polino said.
Anyone who would like a Thanksgiving meal can pick one up at St. Luke's Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.
If you'd like to volunteer, Polino says they need help putting together the Christmas meal bags on Dec. 16.