Siena/Francis House puts on holiday dinner for hundreds

Approximately 400 of Omaha's homeless are getting to share in the bounty of the Thanksgiving holiday through a traditional dinner offered from 4:45 - 7 p.m. at the Siena/Francis House.

Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, along with family and staff, were scheduled to work the 4:30 to 5:30 shift, putting aside municipal business in favor of helping to serve the turkey with all the trimmings.

We got a look at the preparations earlier in the day as they geared up to feed the masses.

Sixty turkeys and dozens of pans filled with mashed potatoes, stuffing, and green beans were chopped, baked and prepped to serve.

It took about two days to get just the advance work done. Thursday was spent seeing to finishing touches and getting it all cooked for people to enjoy.

All of this was made possible by donations from the community.

Tim Sully, with Siena/Francis House, said a lot of this evening's work relies on volunteer work as well.

Sully said, "The mayor will be here for the first line of dinner tonight. She's been doing that since she took office and I think she enjoys it very much. And her family and staff will be here as well."

Siena/Francis House has 45 years of experience at this and had a good running start at the 2019 Thanksgiving holiday. Through the course of 2018 they served 431,533 meals and provided emergency shelter to 3,435 homeless people.