Obama’s on turkey duty, Michelle’s on vegetables while Sasha and Malia dish out the mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce: First Family join forces to serve homeless veterans Thanksgiving dinner
By Julian Robinson for MailOnline and Nikki Schwab, U.s. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com
PUBLISHED, November 26, 2015
Barack Obama thanked former servicemen before the First Family took time out to serve up Thanksgiving dinner for homeless veterans in Washington DC.
The President was joined by wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha as they visited the city’s Friendship Place homeless center.
They served dinner to dozens of hungry vets as part of the ‘Feast with Friends’ event at the shelter, located in the basement of St Luke’s Church.
Each family member took on a different task with Obama dishing up turkey and ladles of gravy, Michelle serving vegetables and their daughters giving out mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce.
The President told diners ‘we appreciate you’ and asked one veteran, ‘how you been?’ and asking them whether they preferred to have white or dark turkey meat.
One tells Obama, ‘You’re doing a great job’ before wishing him a happy holiday.
Earlier in the day, Obama had said: ‘It’s not only of the spirit of giving during this holiday season, but our national obligation to make sure all those who serve and sacrifice for our country have a place to call home.
‘My administration considers this one of our top priorities, making sure that we’re bringing about the reality of zero homelessness for our veterans.’
The Washington Post reports that the shelter received a $3.1million grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs earlier this year.
The funding was part of a White House drive to end homelessness among veterans
The family’s appearance came after Sasha and Malia flanked their father for the annual turkey pardoning ceremony – and put on a happy face while he regaled the audience with dad jokes.
‘It is hard to believe that this is my seventh year of pardoning a turkey,’ the president told the crowd. ‘Time flies, even if turkeys don’t.’
The first daughters cracked a smile and giggled. ‘That was good, that was good,’ said Sasha Obama, who was wearing dark tortoise shell-rimmed glasses, the first time she has been seen in public with them.
‘I thought it was pretty good,’ the president said back. ‘You think it’s funny too, don’t you?’ he said pointing to an audience member.
It was just a year ago that the turkey pardoning ceremony led to the resignation of a Republican congressional aide who suggested that the Obama girls ‘show … a little class’ when Sasha and Malia didn’t show much interest in the ceremony.
This year the sisters giggled along with their dad throughout, as the president seemed downright giddy after the more serious statement he had to make at the White House this morning concerning the recent ISIS attacks in Paris and how the United States is dealing with the threat.
