San Francisco's St. Anthony's serves thousands of veterans on Memorial Day
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- St. Anthony's Dining Room in San Francisco served its 40 millionth free meal earlier this year. The organization helps the homeless, seniors, disabled, and veterans. And on Memorial Day, veterans were the focus.
Every day, up to 3,000 free meals are served at St. Anthony's dining room in the heart of San Francisco's Tenderloin. One-fifth of those eating there were veterans.
"It's off the hook, I love it here," said Navy veteran Benjamin Wynn. "St. Anthony's is the only place i really come to because of the volunteers. It's like a different world here.
On Monday, 50 volunteers served those who served our nation and now need our support.
"It's not the traditional parade that they might be in, it's not the traditional place of honor, but we do find a way of honoring them here," said St. Anthony's Executive Director Barry Stenger.
On this day, St. Anthony's becomes a gathering hall for veterans. It's an opportunity to catch up and swap stories.
"A brotherhood of soldiers," said Air Force veteran Joseph Luna. "You know, we can relate to many things that other people have no clue what we went through."
Army veteran Henry Inocencio added, "See, other people have other minds for festivities but mine is focused on the veterans that gave all."
READ MORE: The true reason why we celebrate Memorial Day
You might think Christmas would be the busiest day of the year at St. Anthony's Dining Room, but it's not. Memorial Day is their busiest day. Officials say it's because it's near the end of the month and people on a fixed income are running out of money. And because it's a federal holiday, there are fewer places open offering a free hot meal.
St. Anthony's says 4,000 will be served on Memorial Day.
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