Many hands make light work — and that is especially apparent each Thanksgiving when volunteers assemble at First United Methodist Church to prepare the annual feast.
The annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner is free and open to everyone from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday at First UMC, 2660 Dakota Ave. S. Those who are alone or unable to prepare a Thanksgiving meal are especially invited.
The menu will feature turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing and gravy, creamed corn, sweet salad, homemade pie, fresh buns and beverage.
Meals will be served at the church in the fellowship hall, and will also be available for carry-out. Meal deliveries will also be made to those who are homebound.
Please call the church at 352-8604 by Tuesday to make a reservation or to have a meal delivered to your home.
“This community is so blessed, you mention the need and people step up to the plate,” said Sheron Chapman, who is overseeing the project with John Hershman and Christine Palleria.
Dakota Provisions will be donating 250 pounds of turkey breast meat, Modern Woodmen is donating 150 pounds of sweet potatoes, and Huron Colony is helping out by donating a number of pies.
They will also be preparing 150 pounds of white potatoes, dressing, and homemade gravy.
“Then of course, we’ve got all the sheets for the congregation to sign up for the other food,” Chapman said. “All of the food is donated, so it’s just so heartwarming to be a part of this type of project. It’s such a feel-good project.”
Last year, they served 500 meals to guests in the church, along with 100 carry-out meals and 167 home delivery meals.
“On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving we will be cooking turkey in every roaster and every oven that we have all over the church,” Chapman said. “We’ll start at 7 a.m. Our prep day is Wednesday.”
The church borrows a big potato peeler from the Catholic Church which makes quick work of that time-consuming task.
“We’ll bring in the youth group Wednesday night,” Chapman said. “All they have to do after the potatoes go through the peeler is remove the eyes and cut them in pieces. We will cook them Thursday morning.”
A committee of volunteers oversee every aspect of the meal.
“We have never had any problem getting volunteers,” Chapman said. “We have a group that comes in and mixes up all the sweet salads. A committee will fix the corn, sweet potatoes and dressing.
“We have a group of gals that come in and do all the table setting — that’s a project and a half,” she added. “And, I am so thankful for that dishwasher.”
The annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner was originally started by the American Lutheran Church, but after 10 years or so, it outgrew their facility.
“When we heard they were going to give it up, we though we’ll look into it,” Chapman said. “They handed us all of their notes, everything was so precisely organized. They gave us recipes, everything they had.
“Our first year was in 2005,” she said. “It’s been wonderful. We’re excited about it.”
In all those years, they have always had a place at the table for anyone who wanted to join them, and there has always been plenty of food. Volunteers sit down to eat after everyone has been served.
“We always plan for more than we need,” Chapman said. “One of the side blessings is that people can take some turkey and dressing home for leftovers after they’ve consumed their meal.”
Preparing a full Thanksgiving feast for so many keeps everyone in the kitchen on their toes.
“At the end of the day you’re tired, but you have a sense of satisfaction of making other people feel welcome and loved,” Chapman added. “When we are doing what God asks us to do, we are blessed.”
