As Michael Ferguson prepared meals for homeless folks and for members of First Baptist Church last Wednesday, in his mind he kept track of the work that is ahead of him in a couple of weeks.
He'll prepare between 400-500 pounds of turkey for Thanksgiving meals, the head chef at the church said. It will be the 28th consecutive year the church has provided free meals to the public. The church is likely to send about 700 meals out the door.
First Baptist Church, at 301 E. Capitol Ave., annually provides and delivers meals for staff working at hospitals, fire and police departments, the Rape and Abuse Crisis Service, media outlets and other organizations where people have to work the holiday. Most of those organizations have already placed orders for Thanksgiving. The deadline to pre-order the free meals by calling 573-634-3603 is 5 p.m. Nov. 25, according to Melissa Hatfield, pastor of youth and missions.
The church also provides free Thanksgiving meals to the community from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 28) for anyone who walks in the door. (Please use the entrance on the Monroe Street side.)
"It's the same wonderful event we've done each year," Hatfield said. "You're served a nice meal. There will be a lot of smiles, warm greetings and pie."
The food will consist of "your standard Thanksgiving menu," Hatfield said - if anyone can consider Ferguson's cooking standard because it goes way beyond standards.
He'll prepare turkey and dressing, vegetables, mashed potatoes and rolls.
"We're really excited," Hatfield said. "If anyone would like to share their Thanksgiving meal with others, we're really grateful and will share in the community."
World Day of the Poor at St. Peter Catholic Church
St. Peter Catholic Church may not be preparing a large Thanksgiving meal, but it is hosting the World Day of the Poor dinner today.
The meal is a chance for poor and hungry members of the community to receive a meal and share fellowship with others, according to Betty Schrimpf, a member of St. Vincent De Paul Society.
The event is not a typical holiday meal.
The Knights of Columbus are preparing the main course - enough pulled pork to feed several hundred people. Parishioners are bringing dishes to share with others during the afternoon meal.
The event starts at 1 p.m. today in the Selinger Center, 216 Broadway St., with a social hour featuring soft drinks. Dinner is from 2-4 p.m.
Organizers have reached out to disadvantaged communities to let them know the meal is available. And the church is to provide free trolley service between the center and The Salvation Army Center of Hope, 927 Jefferson St.; Save A Lot, 1228 E. McCarty St.; and Dulle and Hamilton Towers, 10 Jackson St.
There will be door prizes for attendees. Some will receive gift cards from local restaurants. And they will have the chance to have their blood pressure checked on-site.
Holts Summit Soup Kitchen
The Holts Summit Soup Kitchen provides free holiday (Thanksgiving and Christmas) meals every year - just on a little different schedule than many other people.
Because it is closed on the holidays, the soup kitchen offers the meals a week early. The Thanksgiving meal will be from about 5-6:30 p.m. this Thursday. The meals are provided at the Holts Summit Civic Center, 282 Greenway Drive.
This year, the Samuel F. Gearhart Detachment Marine Corps League Auxiliary is preparing the meal, according to Jan Crowe, the organization's president.
The league intends to have enough food for about 100 people. It will prepare turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, salads, rolls and dessert.
"The auxiliary plans, prepares and serves a whole meal at the kitchen every four to six weeks," Crowe said. "We've done it since about 2013."
When not preparing turkeys, she said, the meals have consisted of taco or tater tot casseroles, lasagna or other treats.
"Our mission is that we are all about serving - not only the Marine Corps veterans," Crowe said. "We also do a lot for the community."
Thousands of Thanksgiving meals will be offered on the holiday, Nov. 28.
The Salvation Army Center of Hope
The Salvation Army of Jefferson City's Center of Hope, 927 Jefferson St., will begin serving the first of two Thanksgiving meals at 11 a.m. That first meal - an "extended lunchtime event" - will continue until 1 p.m., according to Director Brian Vogeler.
"We'll close and clean and give people a break," Vogeler said. "Then we'll start again at 4 and go until 6 o'clock."
They will be traditional holiday meals "just like you'd get at Grandma's house," he continued. The menu will include turkey, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes and gravy, and sweet potato pie.
The center expects to feed 200-250 people during the meals.
The folks at Riley Automotive Group, which was hard-hit by the May 22 tornado, are donating all the turkeys for the meal. The Chevrolet dealership continues to work out of its temporary location on Missouri Boulevard.
The Center of Hope could use donations of a couple of hams, sides and stuffing. Another way to help would be to call the center at 573-635-1975 and volunteer to assist with meals or other activities.
The meals are available for everyone.
"We really do get a lot of people here for lunch," Vogeler said. "This is really a great place to go for people if they don't have family in town."
The center prepares vegetarian items for those who don't eat meat, he continued.
And, just like home, the center turns the television in the dining room on so diners can watch football games while they eat.
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
Also beginning at 11 a.m. will be the Thanksgiving meal at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 1206 E. McCarty St. It will continue until 1 p.m. in Kertz Hall, according to Mike Schnieders, who with his wife, Cindy, and a lot of help from others, coordinates the massive event.
The annual dinner is expected to provide more than 1,100 meals for people throughout Jefferson City. Volunteers will again fan out from the church to spread cheer - and turkey dinners.
Carry-outs are welcome. Call 573-635-6143 to arrange delivery. If you can pick up your own meals, that would take some pressure off the delivery crews. When you call, you will be asked to provide a name, address and number of meals. The deadline to call for delivery is close of business Nov. 25.
Over the years, the meal has grown continually, with annual jumps of 12-22 percent, Mike Schnieders said. But, last year, fewer people received the meals - somewhere in the neighborhood of 900.
"We don't know why we had a decrease last year," Schnieders said, but he added organizers expect the number to bounce right back. "(This year), we've had tornadoes; we've had floods. I think it's going to go right back to where it was the year before last."
Cargill will again donate 50 turkeys to the effort, he said.
Along with the turkey will be "real" mashed potatoes, he continued, and homemade stuffing, green beans, corn, yams and those semi-famous homemade dinner rolls made on-site the day before the meal.
"It's a well-oiled machine," Schnieders said. "Two or three ladies - including my wife - discuss the logistics. They work it down to the last detail.
"It's the Lord's work. The people at Immaculate Conception are extraordinary."
American Legion Post 5
Locals have created their own Thanksgiving tradition at the American Legion Post 5, 1423 Tanner Bridge Road, over about the past 11 years.
This year's dinner will consist of traditional holiday fare surrounding hams and turkey, said Sharon Bertels, manager at the post.
The buffet-style dinner will occur from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. This dinner costs $12 for ages 11 and older and $6 for ages 5-10. Younger children may eat for free.
"It's been a tradition at the legion for years," Bertels said. "It's open to the public. People can come in and relax."
A lot of large families - with 10 or more members - annually attend the event, she said. It won't surprise her if 300-400 people attend again this year.
"A lot of people have said they like the convenience of it. When all the work's done, we get to clean up the mess," Bertels said. "It's easier for (families). By the time they cook and clean at home, they can come here."
Building Community Bridges
Building Community Bridges, at 213 E. Ashley St., will offer a free community Thanksgiving meal from 2-4 p.m.
People wishing to share in the meal should call Diane at 573-680-4089 to let the organization know they will be attending. Anyone wishing to donate to the event should also call Diane.
The goal is to serve turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad and desserts.
This is a new event for the organization, Executive Director Alicia Edwards said. Building Community Bridges is based in a low-income neighborhood at the edge of the path of the May 22 tornado. The nonprofit's mission is to connect with children in the neighborhood and foster their gifts. After the tornado, the organization took on a different role, as a shoulder for neighbors to lean on. It provided free meals, a pantry, clothing, household items and other necessities.
As the holidays approached, its leaders reflected on the mission.
"We were debating whether we should give away turkeys," Edwards said. "We came to the conclusion it would be best to do the meal.
"We serve a lot of homeless people in the community. There are plenty of food pantries around to provide for people who can cook their meals."
BCB decided it should focus more on clients who don't have the means to cook their own meals.
It will open its doors this winter as an overnight warming station for people who wish to spend the night.
The cold snap earlier this month caught the organization a little off guard. It didn't have adequate bedding in case people wanted to stay.
"This weather kind of hit us unexpectedly," Edwards said.