news-record.com

GREENSBORO - With less than three weeks to go , an effort to feed Thanksgiving dinner to 4,000 of the city's homeless, homebound and elderly poor is running desperately short of cash.

The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro's Thanksgiving Fund needs about $12,000 to prepare all those meals of turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables and pumpkin pie.

So far, it has raised $2,300 for this year's feast.

The Rev. Mike Aiken , executive director of the Greensboro Urban Ministry , said although time is short, he believes the shortfall will be erased.

"I think once the word gets out there, this community is really responsive," Aiken said. "People can identify with people who are hungry or homeless, especially on Thanksgiving."

Pat Spain , Urban Ministry's food distribution director , said the need is real.

"This serves the whole Triad community. It's very important every year," Spain said. "A lot of elderly people come in, a lot of people who are really hurting in this economy. ... It makes them feel like they're part of the community when we do things like this."

Spain said Potter's House, Urban Ministry's community kitchen, is serving about 450 people each day during its free midday meal from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. , seven days a week .

"That's up significantly," Spain said. "It used to be 350 or maybe 400. But everything has gone up. The price of food has gone up. The cost of living has gone up. People have lost jobs and been laid off. For a lot of people, this is their only meal of the day."

Urban Ministry provides a kitchen and dining room for the Thanksgiving meal, but for 20 years feast funding has come from the community .

Meals are served to people who come to the Urban Ministry on West Lee Street . Volunteers also deliver food to the homebound, those living with HIV/AIDS, the elderly and Meals on Wheels clients.

Ken Conrad , owner of Libby Hill Seafood , is the lead organizer this year.

Mary Lacklen , owner of Bert's Seafood Grille , organized the first dinner in 1987 with funding from the Greensboro Restaurant Association . Six years ago, with GRA membership declining, Wendy Lavine of the Triad Health Project set up the Thanksgiving Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com