Pismo Beach was packed Thanksgiving morning for the SLO Food Bank’s annual Turkey Trot.
It was a two-mile course along the beach and nearly 1,800 people came to support hunger relief in San Luis Obispo County.
“So many of us take for granted going out to eat, and no family should feel what hunger feels like,” Ingrid Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez told KSBY her family has been coming to this turkey trot for three years.
"This morning when I started I got teary-eyed thinking how thankful we are to have a meal coming up after this, so many families don't have that opportunity. I don't know if we ever stop enough to think how lucky we are,” Rodriguez said.
People of all ages attended the event.
“I love giving back to the community as much as we can and teaching the kids how to give back in different ways,” Alberto Canales said.
The Allen family attended in honor of their daughter.
“It has a special meaning for us because we lost our daughter Christina in 2013 and it's been in memory of her that this event has been taking place for many years,” Andy Allen said.
SLO Food Bank’s CEO, Molly Kern said the need for food in the county is growing year after year.
"The SLO Food Bank is serving more people than we ever had including in the depths of the pandemic, the community is responding in an amazing way making it an incredible event,” Kern said.
The food bank’s goal is to distribute over 5,000 turkey meals to those in need by the end of Dec.
