For the past 23 years, Florida businessman Eric Holm gives free Thanksgiving meals to more than 20,000 people at the Salvation Army gymnasium in Orlando.
Eric Holm began hosting this event because he remembers what it’s like to go hungry on the holidays as a child. Holm grew up poor, and in high school bussed tables at a restaurant where his single mom worked as a waitress to support their family of six. On Thanksgiving they ate at the Salvation Army.
After a lifetime of hard work, Eric Holm, owner of 32 Golden Corral restaurants in the Orlando area, founded the “Helpings from the Heart” program. Staffed by more than 1,100 Salvation Army volunteers, free meals are delivered to nursing homes, shut-ins, churches and other community facilities throughout the Orlando area.
For Eric Holmes, his way of giving thanks is by helping to feed the poor. His annual Helpings from the Heart event is expected to serve more than 20,000 on Thanksgiving Day. The operation will serve from the Salvation Army gymnasium at 440 W. Colonial Drive in Orlando Florida.