Think about all the prep time to put together the perfect meal for Thanksgiving for you and your family. Each year I do have the honor of being able to do that for my family. I realize, as do many communities, that there are families who are not as fortunate. They might have enough to pull together meals to get by, but not all the extra special meals.
Fortunately, communities have places for people to turn to. For example, Equinox in Albany. In 1969, Equinox served its first Thanksgiving meal, serving 200 people. With the help of several thousand volunteers, in 2009, over 9,000 meals were served. Approximately 500 at a sit-down dinner at the First Presbyterian Church in Albany; over 8,500 were delivered to people and families in a 40-mile radius.
How much food feeds over 9,000 people in one day?
- 10,400 pounds of turkey
- 2,000 pounds of ham
- 2,800 pounds of yams
- 940 pies
- 625 dozen dinner rolls
- 19,500 pieces of fruit
- 48 gallons of cider
- Beautiful decorations made by local school children to adorn tables
Community, local businesses, civic groups make this meal possible.
Green Island’s Food Pantry does it’s part to help our community members in need as well. They make sure that residents who are recipients of the holiday baskets have more than enough to celebrate and feed the families. When we prepared the boxes, each box contained:
- 1 turkey
- 1 5-lb. bag of potatoes
- Canned Corn
- Canned Green Beans
- Canned Yams
- Box of stuffing
- A dessert mix
- A condiment
- Bread
It was also complimented with:
- Cans of soup
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Canned Fruit
- Pasta
The delivery of the food baskets is a well organized and planned. Maggie Alix gathers the volunteers and gives the delivery orders. Within an hour, all 55 boxes have been delivered by about 20 volunteers. It brings to mind the old adage, “Lots of hands make light work.” Whether it is feeding 9,000+ or helping out those in your community ~ making brighter todays, will bring about brighter tomorrows.
A Time to Help 