On Thursday, free Thanksgiving dinners set all across Vermont

November 22, 2007

By John Curran
The Associated Press

MONTPELIER -- Forget the old adage: There is such a thing as free lunch. It's being served all across Vermont today -- at traditional Thanksgiving Day meals in community centers, churches and halls.

The homeless and poor aren't the only ones who will eat. In some communities, the turkey dinners are attracting people who either don't want to cook or just want a little fellowship on a day when its absence can be especially hard to take.

While most of the events accept donations at the door, there's no fee.

In Brattleboro, up to 500 are expected to participate in the Brattleboro Community Thanksgiving Dinner, a 30-year tradition in which long tables are set up at The Robert Gibson River Garden community center and diners feast on turkey, ham, homemade stuffing, roasted vegetables, soup and dessert -- including homemade apple crisp.

The food is cooked off-site by volunteers, then brought in for the sit-down meal, which is scheduled for noon to 5 p.m.

"It is for anyone who wishes to come," volunteer organizer Katherine Barratt said. "We provide meals to police and rescue and fire, and deliver meals to people who can't come. It's not just for people who are homeless. Everyone in the community is invited, to celebrate Thanksgiving.

"The people come from all stratas. I have some who come as a family, who say we want everyone to go there so we don't have to make dinner. And it is a wonderful dinner," she said.

In Rutland, the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 1122 expects to serve up to 200 people -- some of them shut-ins -- with its annual feast, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"It's a community service project we do every year, for people who need it and people who don't want to have Thanksgiving Day dinner alone," said Art Hemple, the lodge's administrator. "Most of them need a place to go. Some come because they don't want to eat alone, but the majority are people who are in need."

Nearby, at the Open Door Mission in Rutland, they weren't waiting for today. A Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless or needy was planned Wednesday.

"You just have to be hungry," said Executive Director Sharon Russell. "Some people aren't homeless, they're just hungry, or they're elderly and they need someone. That's why we're here."

In St. Johnsbury, about 100 people are expected for the annual Thanksgiving dinner at North Congregational Church, which gets under way at 11:30 a.m., after an interfaith prayer vigil and Thanksgiving singalong.

Turkeys bought from the Vermont Foodbank and cooked at St. Johnsbury Academy were delivered Wednesday in preparation for the meal, which is open to anyone but normally attracts those in need of a place to go.

"They're people who, by and large, don't have families, although we have some entire families," said the Rev. Jay Sprout, pastor. "Some people come just for the festivity of it. Others are people very much down on their luck and in need of a place to go.

"The idea of Thanksgiving is that it's a national celebration. We feel everybody should be included in a national celebration. It shouldn't be a matter of how much money you have, or whether you can afford it," Sprout said.

In Montpelier, the 35th annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bethany Church, where 192 meals were served last Thanksgiving and 215 delivered to shut-ins.

Meanwhile, the Vermont Foodbank in Barre Town -- Vermont's largest hunger relief organization -- was busy Wednesday relaying donations to food pantries, shelters and other agencies that can use it today.

"We're making last-minute deliveries," said spokeswoman Judy Stermer. "We've been receiving lots of last-minute donations of turkeys and we're trying to get them out to local agencies so we're not holding anything over the weekend."

November 22, 2007

Press Room