MIAMI – Retired Miami Heat star Alonzo Mourning hosted his 16th annual "33 Thanksgivings" on Tuesday, providing meals to more than 400 families.
The former basketball player loaded up turkeys along with the fixings, including mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberries and iced tea.
Without the food provided at the event, some of the recipients would not have a hot meal on Thanksgiving, organizers said. That's why Mourning, along with Publix and FedEx, stepped in to help.
"About 25 percent of our local community is under the local poverty line," Stephen Marino of the Overtown Youth Center said. "Many of them don't have the ability to have Thanksgiving dinner, so Thanksgiving, according to Alonzo and (his wife) Tracy, is a time to be thankful for the blessings we have."
Mourning will deliver food in person to 10 families on Thanksgiving Day.