Salvation Army, 1400 10th Street Sarasota, 941-951-1744.

What does the holiday season mean to you? For me, the holidays usually entail a combination of family, friends and food. Last week, I spent some time serving breakfast at the Salvation Army and my perspective on the holiday season expanded. A core team of workers, assisted by a revolving door of volunteers, begin at 4am every morning preparing the donated food and then serving it to the large homeless population that sleep outside their gates in downtown Sarasota. Whatever your position on panhandlers may be, my position on food is: it should be available to everyone. The people who shuffle through the line are grateful to a fault. They are thankful to have a clean warm place to eat a fresh hot meal and I, for one, am thankful that there is someone in our community to provide these things. The Salvation Army is open 365 days a year, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and all eight days of Chanukah. What does the holiday season mean to you? To me, this year, it means family, friends and food for all. 

Salvation Army, 1400 10th Street Sarasota, 941-951-1744.