Donations sought for Community Thanksgiving Dinner

For the 40th-annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner, organizer Janice Schweigen is looking for more donations of certain food items than last year, one reason being that those involved in making the dinner don’t want to run out of food.

“Last year, we started with seven gallons each of corn and green beans, and we ran out and had to go get more,” Schweigen said. “I’d rather have too much than not enough.”

Another reason involves the ongoing government shutdown, Schweigen said.

“I’m afraid that with people not getting their SNAP benefits for November, we may be serving a lot more people,” she added.

But with enough donations of food and volunteer help, nobody will go hungry at the annual dinner, to be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27 — Thanksgiving Day — at Evangel Church’s Family Life Center in Holton.

Schweigen said certain food items have been taken care of for this year’s dinner — turkey, ham, sweet potatoes and dinner rolls — but there’s still a need for other “trimmings” for the dinner. This year, she’s seeking donations of eight gallons each of corn and green beans, six gallons of instant potatoes, 18 fruit and vegetable salads, 18 Jell-O salads, 18 cakes and 27 pies.

“We’re increasing everything this year,” she said.

Volunteers also are being sought for preparing and serving the dinner, as well as setting up the Family Life Center for those who are coming in for a holiday dinner, cleaning up the center once the dinner is over and delivering dinners to those who request delivered meals.

Schweigen said she’s seen diners and volunteers at previous dinners from outside the Holton area, and she’d like to see more of that, even for those who live north of Holton.

“In the past, we had a guy and his wife who came down from Netawaka to do deliveries,” she said. “I’d like to see if we could get some folks from Whiting and Netawaka to come down and make deliveries to those towns, to people who aren’t able to come into Holton.”

The annual Thanksgiving dinner is open to everyone in the Jackson County community, regardless of their age, income or religious affiliation, and it’s a good option for those who aren’t having their own big family holiday meal that day, Schweigen said. There is no charge for the dinner, but free-will donations will be accepted.

Those who would like to have a meal delivered or prepared for carry-out should call Schweigen at (785) 851-4106, but she advises people seeking deliveries to do so before noon on Wednesday, Nov. 26.

“That’s the cut-off,” she said of the dinner delivery deadline. “I can’t be chasing the phone on Thursday morning!” 

Volunteers who plan to donate food items, or to help in any way, may also contact Schweigen at the above number.