Michigan—Lisa Henderson, her husband and five children moved into a new house 11 days ago, and since the family doesn't have a stove yet, they were grateful for the hot meal that the Detroit Northwest Seventh-day Adventist Church offered to them on Thanksgiving Day.

"Yams, macaroni and cheese, cake and pie and juice," said Henderson, 42, of Detroit. "You name it, we ate it."

The church served meals to about 97 people by 4:30 p.m. as part of its first Brightmoor Community Thanksgiving Feast. It was among several organizations that offered meals to the needy on Thursday.

At the Masonic Temple, the Salvation Army served breakfast to 1,500 people and then dinner to about 500 at the Harbor Light Center in Detroit.

"We had wonderful volunteers," said Cindy Mainville, administrator of the Harbor Light program. "Everything is done by volunteers. They did a wonderful job."

Mainville said after the meals were finished, some of the people who received them stayed to help clean up.

Cory Jackson, pastor, tried to foster the same type of community spirit at the Detroit Northwest Seventh-day Adventist Church.

"Our goal is to nurture and feed people one at a time—spiritually and physically," Jackson said.

Jackson, who has served as pastor for about a year, came up with the Thanksgiving event as a way to engage the neighborhood, said Deborah Cole, the church's communications director.

"He came in with a real fire to do something for the community," Cole said. "And Brightmoor is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Detroit."

Organizers also wanted to encourage healthy eating and created a vegetarian feast, Cole said, especially since African-American families are plagued by elevated rates of high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.

"We want people to know they can eat well, it can be very tasty, and the food can be healthy," Cole said.

The church also handed out boxes of food, including cans of tomato soup, chili and corn, to all the families who attended.

Henderson said her family had a "lovely" time.

"We got to meet a lot of different people," she said. "They are so helpful and friendly. I think this is a beautiful thing."

Jackson said he plans to have the event grow each year.

"We are commissioned to reach out to the community," he said.

Jennifer Mrozowski, reporter, The Detroit News. Reprinted with permission, originally published Nov. 23, 2007.