Community dinner feeds 291 people

The number of dinners served at Thursday’s annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner was closer to the average than previous Thanksgiving dinners, although a bigger chunk of those dinners were served by delivery drivers, according to dinner organizer Freda Galer.

“It must have been the weather,” Galer said. “A lot of people who usually come, I didn’t see.”

Of the 291 total dinners served, she noted, 90 dinners were deliveries, with the remainder coming to the EUM Family Life Center for a sit-down dinner. Thursday’s total was above last year’s count of 250 total dinners, the 2013 dinner’s total of 255 and the 2012 total of 262; the average number of dinners served is about 300, she said.

Galer and others involved with the dinner are hopeful for a high turnout at the annual Community Christmas Dinner, to be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 25 at the Family Life Center. Donations of food and volunteer help are being sought for that dinner, she said.

“I’ve already got two of my turkey cookers for that day,” Galer said. “I’ve got quite a bit of stuff already that people have brought in.”

Food items needed for the Christmas dinner include 13 cooked and deboned turkeys, five 10-pound hams, three gallons of corn, four gallons of baked beans, 30 pies, 10 cakes, four other desserts such as cheesecakes, 10 Jell-O salads, 15 fruit or vegetable salads and seven gallons of sweet potatoes, the last item being a popular item at Thursday’s dinner.

“We almost ran out of the sweet potatoes, which is very unusual,” Galer said.

There was also no shortage of help for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, and Galer cited members of the AmeriCorps team who are in the middle of a two-month stay in Holton for their volunteer service.

“Those kids are really good workers,” Galer said. “But we appreciated everybody’s help.”

More volunteer help is needed for the Christmas dinner, including kitchen workers, servers and people to set up the Family Life Center, both on Christmas Eve and the morning before the dinner.

Galer also encouraged those who want a Christmas dinner delivered to them to call her at 364-4160 by 10 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 24. Galer may be reached at that same number for those who wish to make a food donation or pledge volunteer services for the Christmas dinner.

Monetary donations also are being accepted for the Christmas dinner; contact Francis DeVader at 364-2507 for more information.