Twenty-two years ago, Rome’s first Love Feast fed 900 people in need on Thanksgiving. Last year, the event fed 3,000. This year, organizers are preparing for even more.

This year’s Love Feast will be on Thanksgiving from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Rome Civic Center on Jackson Hill.

To add a little twist to the traditional Thanksgiving cuisine, Pizza Hut on Martha Berry Boulevard will be donating a variety of 400 pizzas.

“We just want to take part in something good; … we are a new business, and we want to put ourselves out there, and the best way to do that is to participate in feeding the homeless,” said Paru Ali, the executive assistant at Pizza Hut.

If you don’t want pizza, there will still be the traditional fare: Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, English peas, candied yams, rolls, tea and a variety of desserts.

The event is organized by Mount Calvary Baptist Church, and Southeastern Mills is donating items for the dressing.

“There is a great need in Floyd County,” said the Rev. Terrell Shields, of Mount Calvary Baptist. “The need isn’t just for people who can’t work. It’s for people who are emotionally needy and do not have a family. They can spend Thanksgiving with us.”

Shields said the event is paid for by community donations and he encouraged people to support the needy.

To donate to the event, mail a check payable to Thanksgiving Love Feast to P.O. Box 161 Rome, GA 30162.

Also, the community is encouraged to bring desserts and clothes to be given out at the event.

According to Shields, the event started two decades ago when his daughter brought the homeless to his attention.

“Twenty-two years ago, my youngest daughter was in day care and the teacher was trying to get her class to eat all their food by reminding them of the homeless. My daughter came home and asked me if there was anything I could do for the homeless. My oldest daughter said, ‘Sure, Dad is a preacher, he can do anything,’ so that is when I decided to start the Love Feast,” said Shields.

Chelsea Latta, a senior at Model High School, is an intern with the Rome News-Tribune.


To donate to the event, mail a check payable to Thanksgiving Love Feast to P.O. Box 161 Rome, GA 30162