LYNN — The United Way of Massachusetts Bay celebrated 25 years of providing Thanksgiving meals by distributing 1,500 meal bags with traditional fixings at the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development on Saturday.

Elected officials, including Mayor Jared Nicholson, State Sen. Brendan Crighton, and State Reps. Jenny Armini and Daniel Cahill volunteered at the Gratitude Project distribution event.

Since 1999, the United Way has worked to ensure families in Greater Boston enjoy a home-cooked holiday meal. What began as a catered meal for 10 families funded by an anonymous donor has grown into an annual event that reaches more than 16,000 families.

Each family received a reusable grocery bag containing stuffing, cornbread, rice, canned beans, canned corn, onions, carrots, and brownie mix. Depending on the distribution site, families also received a disposable turkey pan and either a turkey or a grocery gift card to purchase one.

This year’s Gratitude Project distributed 10,000 bags and 10,450 gift cards across seven locations in eastern Massachusetts. The initiative also awarded $180,000 in Gratitude Grants to 12 community partners, impacting more than 16,000 households.

Sponsors for this year’s Thanksgiving Project included Bank of America, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, P&G Gillette, Boston Properties, Charlesbank, Ropes & Gray, Amazon, UPS, Wegmans, Winn Companies and Sun Life Financial.