Free Community Thanksgiving Meal at St. Mary’s Academy Nov. 24th
Codie Carpenter and Brian Lauderbach volunteering in the kitchen to prepare a free Thanksgiving meal for the Community. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
By Cole Goodwin
The Dalles Salvation Army will host their annual free community thanksgiving meal at St. Mary’s Academy in The Dalles from noon to 3 p.m. on November 24th, 2022. The event will be in-person for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.
“We’re extremely grateful for all the community's help and support this Thanksgiving season,” said Kristen Harmon, Service Center Coordinator at SVDP. “Thank you to our sponsors, Meadow Outdoor Advertising, Coastal Farm and Ranch, Columbia Bank, Gene Parker, Fred Meyers, Aaron’s Rent to Own, and Gorge Country Media. Thank you to St. Mary’s Academy. And a big thank you to our volunteers.”
Volunteer Codie Carpenter told CCCNews that volunteers Terry Cobb, Chris Hance, Tim Kamime, Brian Lauderbach alone had spent over thirty hours prepping for the meal so far and had cooked up nearly 40 whole turkeys, countless amounts of stuffing, gravy, and more.
A fridge full of food ready to go.
Carpenter said that this is her 6th year being involved in the event.
“When my youngest son was one month old, my husband had to be life-flighted and I had stopped working because I had just had a baby and he had to have open heart surgery so he lost his job,” said Carpenter “And I went from making like seventy-five thousand dollars a year to going on food stamps and that was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It was very humbling and you find out what it's like really quick to go from here to here. And so this is just my way to give back,” said Carpenter.
Carpentner said that volunteers are welcome to show up throughout the day to help serve meals, deliver meals to community members in need, or help with cleanup.
“I tend to not have enough people in the afternoon or for clean up,” she added.
The event has been made possible by the Salvation Army in the past however things may be shifting next year due to low staffing at the Salvation Army.
“We are actively seeking individuals from the community to form a committee to take over the Thanksgiving event next year,” said Harmon.
Interested parties can call the Salvation Army office at 541-296-3341 or email Kristen Harmon at kristen.harmon@usw.salvationarmy.org.
