NEW YORK — A special delivery of a Thanksgiving meal and gift tote with personal care items and snacks recently arrived for Milagros Rios of the West Village. The nutritious food was brought by God's Love We Deliver volunteer Cindy Little.

Rios is an 83-year-old former nurse who has osteoarthritis, heart problems and is in the early stages of dementia. She only leaves her home for medical visits.

"This to me is being remembered, still being valued, and still someone caring,” said Rios.

The traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and more was prepared at the God's Love We Deliver kitchen in SoHo, which is bustling as staff and volunteers cook up 10,000 holiday meals.

The organization got its start in 1985 when Hospice volunteer Ganga Stone visited an AIDS patient named Richard Sale, and found he was too ill to cook for himself. Since then nearly 30 million medically tailored meals have been cooked and home delivered to New Yorkers with life altering illnesses.

"We continue to grow because you know, being sick and hungry is a crisis, and it really does demand an urgent response from us,” said Karen Pearl, President and CEO of God's Love We Deliver.

Pearl said the meals are always free, cooked and delivered with love, and there is never a waiting list. Tens of thousands of volunteers make it happen throughout the year, 1,000 volunteers on Thanksgiving Day alone.

That includes Cindy Little, who also helps out in the kitchen. She can relate to the clients because she was one herself seven years ago during her battle with breast cancer, which is now in remission.

"When I was listening for that knock, I knew what I was getting and I knew the care and the love that went into it and that's why I remain passionate,” said Little.

Twenty dollars buys a Thanksgiving meal for a client and a loved one through God's Love's Celebrate with a Plate. To help out head to glwd.org.