Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel Prepares 20 Turkeys for L.A. Homeless

More than 600 people came out to enjoy the Thanksgiving lunch in downtown Los Angeles last weekened and enjoyed 20 turkeys cooked at Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel. Chefs volunteered to cook turkeys for the annual Salvation Army Thanksgiving Lunch, which feeds the low-income and homeless population in Los Angeles.

Executive Chef Olivier Rousselle those who came were very grateful for the food and Thanksgiving festivities. Hotel staff were approached by the Los Angeles Central Salvation Army with a special holiday request this year: to prepare turkeys for their annual Thanksgiving lunch that serves meals to the city's low-income residents and the homeless population.

The hotel, participating for the first time this year, cooked 20 turkeys for the event.

"Luxe Hotels has been incredibly generous in offering to prepare the turkeys for our annual Thanksgiving lunch," said Alexandra Delgado, corps assistant with the Los Angeles Central Salvation Army, in a press release. "They are cooking the most turkeys for the event and we are grateful to them for opening their kitchen and their hearts to the people in Los Angeles who otherwise wouldn’t be able to purchase a turkey or enjoy a Thanksgiving meal."

Olivier and his team volunteered to prepare the turkeys in the hotel’s industrial kitchen on Saturday, Nov. 17. The Salvation Army dropped off the turkeys at 8 a.m. Saturday morning and picked them up at 8 p.m. that evening from the hotel. 

The Salvation Army used the whole turkeys to prepare individual meals for the homeless and low-income residents in Los Angeles who attended the annual lunch on Sunday, November 18 at 906 South Francisco Street in Los Angeles.

"The holidays remind us of how fortunate we are and we realize there are so many people and families who can’t afford a turkey this Thanksgiving,” said Efrem Harkham, Founder and Chairman of Luxe Hotels.

Thousands of homeless Los Angeles County residents will enjoy traditional Thanksgiving dinners Thursday, many served by celebrities at gatherings from Skid Row to Compton and Pasadena to the San Fernando Valley.