Free Thanksgiving Dinner Creates Community Connections
Traditional holiday food and public support for a local organization come together for the 14th Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner (CTD).
Free and open to the public, the dinner will be held on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 23 from 11-1 p.m. at the American Legion building, 2100 South Maple St., in Marshfield. Reservations are not needed and carry outs are available for this turkey dinner with all the fixings!
Promotional and volunteer coordinator, Julie Hastreiter, gives credit to the community, and its willingness to give back, for the success of the dinner.
“The CTD serves a wide range of socio-economic patrons–some truly in financial need of a dinner, some who simply want to share the day with others, and some who are new Marshfield residents making community connections,” she said. “There would not be a CTD without our volunteers and donors. All of the planning, meal preparation and serving, and clean-up work is performed by volunteers; some have been helping for more than ten years, and each year new people turn out to make the dinner a success.”
Jan Altmann focuses on the administrative tasks and agrees with Hastreiter about the importance of community support. “It is successful each year due to the enormous response we have from the community. We have, in years past, attempted to capture the number of total volunteer hours involved and lost count somewhere after a few hundred. The generosity of this community never ceases to amaze me.”
Hastreiter gives thanks for host site donors, the American Legion Hall, and to Columbus Catholic Schools for use of their kitchen and their help in preparing pies and decorating dining room placemats.
The Marshfield Area Gobblers provides the turkeys, the Marshfield High School FCCLA supplies the dressing, and the cranberries come from Gardner Cranberries. Many individuals in the community also donate money or food items for the meal. Marshfield Bus Service provides free transportation to and from the dinner.
This year’s recipient for donations is the Hannah Center in Marshfield. Hastreiter said, “We like to choose a local organization that may not be real well-known in the community but is one that helps many. This year we heard the Hannah Center has a special funding need to make major repairs to their basement,” she said. “We know they provide in-house help to women in a life crisis situation and also serve as a Marshfield area clearinghouse for clothing, baby items, furniture, household goods, and much more.”
Volunteers are still needed to help with the dinner preparation and set up on Wed., November 22. Thanksgiving Day also presents volunteer opportunities through serving food and helping with the cleanup.
To volunteer, sign up for a bus ride to the American Legion Hall, or to donate a food item, please contact Jan at 715-387-3333 or by emailing [email protected]. Bus rides must be reserved by November 21. Monetary donations towards the Marshfield Community Thanksgiving Dinner may be made at BMO Harris Bank.
