21st Annual Free Community Thanksgiving Dinner

02/27/2020

Council: 12941 - BIDDEFORD

Project Description:

21st Annual Free Community Thanksgiving Dinner 11/28/19 Most Holy Trinity Church Hall, Saco
26 Knights 84 helpers 390 hours
The 21st edition of the Free Community Thanksgiving Dinner was sensational, per usual. It ain’t bragging if it’s true. The general plan was the same as with other council sponsored dinners: Brother Knights planned the meal, solicited donations of money and food to keep cost down, prepared the food, served it and cleaned up the kitchen and hall afterward, but the Thanksgiving dinner has come to be extraordinary in how it has grown and in what it has turned into. Dozens of family and friends have gotten involved, along with helpers from the community, in putting on the dinner. We have added takeout and home delivery all over Saco, Biddeford and OOB for those who couldn’t make it to the hall. People have fallen in love with this event and quite a few are coming back year after year to be a part of it. The Thanksgiving Dinner is a source of great contentment for many.
In 2019, we served almost 900 meals, split about evenly between meals in the hall and out. Over 50 turkeys were donated to the dinner. The potatoes were donated, as were all the pies served for dessert. We took voluntary donations from diners and wound up making over $400 on the free dinner after expenses. Materially, the dinner was a complete success.
The experience for everyone in the hall was even better. Delicious food and the company of friendly, happy people are a real formula for thanksgiving and bring on a feeling of closeness to God. The Great Commandment calls for us to love God with all our hearts, minds and souls, and this dinner was an expression of that appreciation for all that we have.