Local organizations making sure no one goes without a hot, Thanksgiving meal

Published: Thursday, December 3, 2009

Every year on Thanksgiving, it’s all about the food. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing and all the trimmings adorn hundreds of thousands of tables across the country.

For many people in New Hampshire, this Thanksgiving is going to be hard. The steep decline in the economy has left of people all over the state, not just uninvited, but looking for a place to get a free, hot meal on Thanksgiving Day.

For more than 13 years, the Hudson Fish and Game Club has been providing Thanksgiving Day dinners to help feed people in the local communities. Last year, 200 residents from local towns chose to dine at the club, while volunteers and members from Meals on Wheels worked on delivering 950 meals to those who aren’t able to make it to the sit-down dinner. They usually have enough drivers to help deliver the meals to residents in Nashua, Hudson and Litchfield.

The day before Thanksgiving, more than 100 volunteers begin the food preparations with help from Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts and various activity clubs from Alvirne High School. Karen Knox has been volunteering at the club for 20 years and was there for the first Thanksgiving dinner.

“There’s always a nice fire going here, and it’s a nice place to come and socialize,” Knox said. “This is for people that are alone and don’t feel like cooking for themselves.”

This year’s economy slump has Knox concerned about food and monetary donations.

“We need donations of home-baked pies and money to buy the fixings. We never have enough pies,” she said.

Thanksgiving dinner is served Thursday, Nov. 26, at around 1 p.m. Knox recommends arriving around noon, and, even though all are welcome to show up, making a reservation is best. For dinner reservations or delivery service, call Sharon at 732-3056.

At Milford’s United Methodist Church, the annual Thanksgiving Dinner, in its fourth year, hasn’t become a community staple like the Fish and Game Club dinner, but Pastor Tom Getchell-Lacey is betting that it will be.

“It’s a place for people to forget about their troubles and enjoy a really nice meal,” Getchell-Lacey said.

Anywhere from 50-60 volunteers help set-up, carve turkey, prepare the trimmings and clean up. For the past three years, about 100 people have shown up to eat at the church dinner.

“We want to reach the people in the community who are looking for a place to go when the other alternative is them being alone. It’s a family atmosphere here,” Getchell-Lacey said.

It’s also not unusual to find the pastor, his wife and two children volunteering at the Thanksgiving meals. They’ve been regular dinner guests for two years.

“I can’t say enough about how much our family looks forward to the Thanksgivings,” he added.

Dinner at Milford United Methodist Church is Thursday, Nov. 26, at 1 p.m.

In Nashua, Harbor Homes and The Partnership for Successful Living will offer their 9th annual Thanksgiving Dinner on Tuesday. Six agencies, including Harbor Homes, Healthy at Home, Keystone Hall, the Southern NH HIV/AIDS Task Force, Milford Regional Counseling Services and Welcoming Light, are hosting this year’s dinner.

Last year, 300 people turned out for the dinner at Harbor Homes, and this year they’re preparing for many more due to the status of the economy.

“No one should feel that they have nowhere to go for Thanksgiving,” Cynthia Andreola, community relations manager for Harbor Homes, said, “We’re not turning anyone away on Tuesday.”

Providing food for more than 300 people is a lot of legwork. Local farmers donate food and vegetables, community members drop off food donations, organizations send baked goods, and the Food Bank provides the majority of the turkeys.

“We’re in really good shape food-wise this year, but we’re still looking for green beans and pies,” Andreola said.

Volunteers from all over New Hampshire will be on hand to help out at one of the state’s largest Thanksgiving dinners. This is the second year Gov. John Lynch has signed up to volunteer.

Committees of volunteers within the agency take charge of every element in aspect to preparing the dinners, setting up and cooking the food. This year, Harbor Homes has 63 turkeys ready to serve to hungry diners, and a full-time cook from Keystone Hall will come in first thing Tuesday morning to carve and finish preparing them.

Dinner will be served in the Harbor Homes training room at 45 High St. on Tuesday from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Julianne Hanckel can be reached at 594-5833 or jhanckel@nashuatelegraph.com