Valley shelters serve Thanksgiving dinners

Fresno's Poverello House served up a thanksgiving dinner for about 1,000 people Thursday.

The shelter counts on turkey donations year round.

It generally receives between 1,500 and 2,000 turkeys during the holiday season and uses them for meals over several months. Thursday's thanksgiving meal didn't start with lunch.

Thursday morning the shelter also served up a large breakfast for those in need. Thousands of people enjoyed a free thanksgiving meal in Merced.

The line outside the American Legion Hall stretched down Main Street Thursday morning. Inside, people filled their plates with turkey and all the traditional side dishes including plenty of dessert.

Organizers say they faced a last minute disaster when a valve for their ovens broke. But they fixed it in time to cook for the five thousand people who showed up.

The Merced Rescue Mission organized the meal and also gave away piles of donated clothing.