© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Up To 700 Homeless Expected At Eugene Mission For Thanksgiving

Melorie Begay
/
KLCC

Thanksgiving preparations are underway at the Eugene Mission, where 700 people – including families – are expected to arrive Thursday.  It’s a part of the organization’s services for the homeless.


Story #1:

Food Services Director Marshall Eck and his volunteers have their work cut out for them.  They’re preparing up to 500 pounds of potatoes, countless gallons of gravy, and of course, the birds. Roughly 100 of them. Eck opens up a cooler…

Credit Brian Bull / KLCC
/
KLCC
Marshall Eck, Food Services Director at the Eugene Mission, with some of the roughly 100 turkeys they're cooking for Thanksgiving.

“What you’re seeing right here is some of our brined turkeys, we made up a little special rub, and…smells like the holidays in here, doesn’t it?”

The Eugene Mission is serving breakfast and Thanksgiving dinner Thursday.  Eck says in the five years he’s done this event, he’s noticed a sad trend.

“We’ve seen a huge uprise in families that are underhoused and need some support for meals at some levels and housing at some levels, and it is definitely a growing population.”

Lane County’s Point-in-Time Count for 2018 shows more than 1600 homeless people in the area.

mbDANNY.mp3

Story #2:

Daniel Irving, known around the Eugene Mission as Danny says ideally he’d spend Thanksgiving in a home of his own, making his own dinner. However, Irving says, volunteers help make the occasion worthwhile.

Credit Brian Bull / KLCC
/
KLCC
Volunteers at the Eugene Mission's serving line.

“Even though they’re limited with the food and the spices that they get, they always make it good and I enjoy it very much,” he tells KLCC.

Irving says he enjoys spending the holidays at the mission because they spruce up the cafeteria. The organization uses table cloths and to make the day even more special, guests are seated and served.

Irving says it’s nice to have turkey and ham on the day instead of convenience store food. He says he wants people to come out and join him or volunteer because it’s a good time.


WEB EXTRA: Marshall Eck shows off some of the 100 turkeys being brined ahead of the 2018 Thanksgiving meal at Eugene Mission:


Copyright 2018, KLCC.

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
Melorie Begay is a multimedia journalist for KLCC News. She was the Inaugural KLCC Public Radio Foundation Journalism Fellow. She has a bachelors in Multimedia Journalism from the University of New Mexico. She previously interned at KUNM public radio in Albuquerque, NM and served as a fellow for the online news publication New Mexico In Depth.
Related Content