On the road leading to Salvation Army’s Aurora Corps, several volunteers wearing inflatable snowman, reindeer and penguin costumes pranced around the sidewalk on Thanksgiving Thursday with bells and signs saying “free food.”

Another wave of volunteers greeted guests telling them to take a seat and wait to be served a meal — handing them the Gospel of John and a paper listing food pantry hours.

The Salvation Army hosted a free community meal on Thanksgiving at 802 Quari Ct. to serve up to 400 people.

The event is in its fifth year and has grown from serving 30 people in its first year, said Carl Esquivel of the Salvation Army Aurora Corps.

This Thanksgiving, the Salvation Army prepared to serve food to 3,000 people at six locations across the Denver metro area, including the community meal in Aurora.

“We want to create that sense of joy and happiness, sometimes in the midst of not the best season,” Esquivel said.

People sat round tables as volunteers handed them a prepared meal of turkey, green beans and mashed potatoes. Guests could get free coffee or hot chocolate.

This year brought many challenges for the Aurora food pantry, which served about 36,000 people within the 2024 fiscal year from food, rental and utility assistance.

At the height of the federal government shutdown, Esquivel said the Salvation Army served more than double the number of people than normal. The number of people in need of help spiked by 110%, he said.

The shutdown was the longest in U.S. history and ended after Democrats and Republicans reached a deal that President Donald Trump signed on Nov. 12. During the 43 days, federal workers received no pay and the Trump administration delayed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Food banks across the metro Denver area saw an influx of people with food insecurity during the shutdown. But even as benefits have been reinstated, Esquivel said they’re still busy serving people in need of food.

“The reality is our numbers are still about the same as during the height of the shutdown,” he said. “So are we hoping that those numbers will come down? Yes, has it happened yet? The answer is no.”

The Salvation Army had to tap into its December funds to meet the surge of demand during the shutdown. He said the organization received $30,000 in emergency funds from Arapahoe County and got help for other churches, organizations and strangers wanting to chip in.

“We still need more,” he said. “That’s just the truth of the matter.”

To also serve families for Christmas, Esquivel said Salvation Army’s goal is to get $250,000 donated by the end of the year.

But for Thanksgiving, the community meal was meant to be a place to create smiles, eat food and enjoy the holiday.

Kids would run around playing Connect 4 or they aimed to hit the target of a Nerf axe throwing board. Others jumped around the bounce house, competed against each other in the inflatable gaga ball pit or doodled in the coloring books.

In the dining hall, adults watched the NFL Game between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions as volunteers prepared slices of pumpkin pie dolloped with whipped cream.

Giving a glimpse of hope goes a long way, Esquivel said, especially around the holidays when feelings of both joy and sadness are often triggered.

“It creates a sense of warmth, a sense of belonging, that someone in the city of Aurora cares for them,” he said. “So that’s the joy that we’re trying to bring.”