'Dan & Ray Rendering Thanks' feast comes together for 13th year

RACINE, Wis. - The cost of a Thanksgiving meal may have been a little harder to swallow this year, which made a feast served in Racine that much more meaningful for a lot of folks.

The 13th annual "Dan & Ray Rendering Thanks" feast had one of the biggest turnouts yet.

"Food is very expensive, times are tough, people are having to come here because they’re feeling it at home. It’s not good," said organizer Ray Stibeck. "They should know that there are people in this community that care about them and want to help."

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Hundreds of people were fed Thursday. Some of them, like Vietnam War Veteran Thomas Urban, said he otherwise would not have had a meal this holiday.

"I’m all alone in this life, in this world," Urban said. "You’re around a bunch of really great people, so you feel good on Thanksgiving Day."

Thomas Urban

Organizers said the feast could not happen without dozens of volunteers. Cory Jurkiewicz and Grace Bullock come from Madison to serve meals every year.

"We have food, so it feels much better to give food to people who wouldn’t otherwise have a big meal with their family," said Bullock.

"It just feels great. There's no better feeling in the world than helping people out," Jurkiewicz said.