Before sunrise this Thanksgiving morning, dozens of volunteers arrived at Project Angel Food’s temporary kitchen in Lincoln Heights to prepare and pack more than 3,000 traditional turkey meals for critically ill Angelenos.

Joining in the effort were Yvette Nicole Brown and husband Anthony Davis, Loni Love, Amanda Kloots, Will Sasso, Amy Yasbeck, Michael Hitchcock, Ava Maybee, Brooke Burns with husband director Gavin O’Connor, Karl Schmid, Lawrence Zarian, Lisa Foxx, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nancy Lenehan, Rebecca Metz, and Trisha Cardoso, President and Chief Giving Officer of The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation. Ms. Cardoso said, “One of the special things about volunteering with Project Angel Food is that at a time when there is so much negativity in the world, Project Angel Food helps us focus on hope.”

The festive morning also featured an emotional moment with KTLA 5’s Gayle Anderson in her first assignment returning to KTLA 5 Morning News after a three-month leave recovering from hip surgery. Project Angel Food CEO, Richard Ayoub and Loni Love helped KTLA surprise her live on air with flowers.

Together, the celebrity and community volunteers worked side by side throughout the morning assembling Thanksgiving meals to be delivered to clients at their homes by volunteer drivers, so they didn’t need to be alone on the holiday. Extra meals were prepared to ensure that during the two-week transition between closing the temporary Lincoln Heights kitchen and reopening the kitchen in what will be the new, two-building The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Campus. A second building begins construction in 2026. The new kitchen is double the size, is energy efficient, and will produce three times as many meals.

Richard Ayoub, CEO of Project Angel Food remarked, “More than anything, I feel gratitude — for the nearly 6,000 people who volunteered with us this year, for those by our side this morning, and for the staff and donors who make this work possible. Project Angel Food exists to lift up our most weary neighbors, and on a day devoted to giving thanks we are especially grateful for all who share their time and resources so we can keep delivering medically tailored meals with love, dignity and compassion.”

Yvette Nicole Brown reflected on the morning of service, saying, “It’s a difficult time for everybody right now. And everyone needs to show up and be one of the helpers like Mr. Rogers asked us to be.”

Loni Love, who has been volunteering on Thanksgiving for the last five years added, “It’s about family, it’s about giving back.”

Amanda Kloots, who volunteered with her six-year-old son, Elvis, shared, “It’s the best way to start a Thanksgiving morning, volunteering and giving back to such a wonderful organization that does so much for others.”

Will Sasso observed, “We volunteered last year, and I said yes the second I was asked. It’s one of the few things where you can show up with something that immediately means love. And food is love.”

Fueling the early-morning effort, coffee was provided by Don Francisco’s Coffee. The day’s Thanksgiving meals were underwritten by the Stanley and Joyce Black Family Foundation, with Jill Black volunteering on site to help bag meals alongside other volunteers and staff.

As Project Angel Food begins moving dishwashers, flash freezers and eventually all operations to its new Hollywood home starting the Monday after Thanksgiving, this morning’s event served as both a farewell to the temporary Lincoln Heights kitchen and a celebration of the community that has sustained the organization through a period of tremendous growth.

About Project Angel Food

Project Angel Food nourishes the health and spirit of people facing critical and life-threatening illnesses by preparing and delivering medically tailored meals with love, care and dignity. A Four-Star Charity Navigator organization with a Platinum GuideStar/Candid Seal and a two-time California Non-Profit of the Year honoree, Project Angel Food prepares and delivers 1.5 million medically tailored meals annually to more than 7,100 individuals living with serious illnesses across Los Angeles County — more than 20 million meals since its founding in 1989. Volunteers are vital to its mission. In the past year, 5,814 volunteers worked 15,314 shifts and contributed 47,881 hours, saving the organization more than a million dollars in salaries so that 89¢ of every dollar raised goes directly into its medically tailored meals.