Iron Gate Feeding Tulsa's Homeless

As costs rise so do the numbers of people who need help. Charities are struggling, too. Stretching resources and donations to cover needs requires a bit of magic. The News On 6's Rick Wells reports the person in charge of making all the magic happen at Iron Gate, a downtown Tulsa feeding program, is a former corporate trainer turned kitchen manager and cook.

Iron Gate feeds nearly 300 people every day, many from Tulsa's homeless, more from the working poor. Debra Dixon started cooking there seven years ago; she says the numbers keep going up.

"The numbers are two or three times what they were back then," said Dixon.

Making the food go far enough requires a little magic and a little faith.

"Sometimes I have to pray about it, Lord, send some meat, send some meat," said Dixon.

The chili-mac casserole is kind of a community pot-luck., pasta from the food bank donated tomatoes, and leftover meat from a charity chili cook-off.

Around the corner in a pot she calls Big Bertha there's donated chicken which she'll mix with more pasta.

Debra's husband Ernest is the Iron Gate Operations Manager.

Seems like magic, for her it's a mission making sure folks who come in hungry, go out satisfied. To many of them she's like an angel in an apron.

Iron Gate operates seven days a week and is always looking for donations and volunteers. You can contact them through Trinity Episcopal Church.