Hundreds of residents and dozens of sailors came out to an annual turkey giveaway in National City in preparation for Thanksgiving.
The mayor of National City, Ron Morrison, hosts the yearly event. This Tuesday marked its 10th year.
“I think it’s amazing that everybody can come together like this and just be one big, happy family for this thanksgiving season,” Petty Officer 1st Class Sarah Alvarez told NBC 7.
Alvarez, who has served at the Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SRMC) in Barrio Logan for the past three years, said she was in line for a friend.
“I’m here to get a turkey for one of my sailors who cannot,” she said. “Just having some hard times, so I want to make sure that this sailor has a good Thanksgiving.”
Roughly 680 people were in line for the Thanksgiving bird and other holiday sides.
“These are the ones we can help right now, and these are the ones we’re going to help,” Morrison told NBC 7. “That’s just the reality of our world today.”
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Most of the families were preselected for the free food through schools and the military.
“It’s great,” said Marisela Baltazar, an electrician’s mate at SRMC, who was getting a turkey for herself. “Everybody gets together to help out people in need.”
Morrison, alongside nearly 10 donors, bought and passed out the free meals to those who needed it.
