This year's combined Big Super Feast was every bit big and every bit super. Together, Waste Management and the City Club of Houston served at least 30,000 people inside a packed George R. Brown Convention Center.
The line stretched for close to two hours. It was not just a long wait for those showing up early this Thanksgiving, but a sign of the need in southeast Texas.
Among those in line today were John Goode and Rebecca Mathison.
"Two hours wait," Goode said. "But after a while the line started moving fast."
This was their first visit here on a Thanksgiving Day.
"We actually met people in line," Mathison said. "It was nice, you know? Talked to them the whole way through in line. It was nice."
Like most of those in some sort of need, they have a place to live. They have jobs. But it's just not enough.
"I work at a grocery store," Mathison said. "I see a lot of people come in there and spend hundreds of dollars, but you know, I'm like, I work here. I don't have that kind of money to spend on a nice dinner and everything."
The feast was not just about food. There was donated clothing from which to choose -- a real blessing for Sakeenah Abdullah, also here for the first time.
"I got clothes, shirts, pants. I got a sweater," Abdullah said. "Yeah, it was nice. And I got blankets."
There was also a medical clinic, assistance for the homeless and gift bags so that Thanksgiving Day is not the only day with a good meal, and so that maybe next year's line won't be quite so long.
As further indication of the need this year, there were still people showing up at the convention center even as the event was winding down at 3pm.
