Salvation Army: 'Go ahead and come by' for carry-out Thanksgiving

Kitchen volunteer Adam Graver is served lunch Tuesday by shelter monitor Krystal Watts at The Salvation Army. The Center of Hope will be serving meals 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
Kitchen volunteer Adam Graver is served lunch Tuesday by shelter monitor Krystal Watts at The Salvation Army. The Center of Hope will be serving meals 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

The COVID-19 pandemic will affect long-running holiday traditions in Jefferson City, with some community meals modified and some canceled.

The Salvation Army

Despite the pandemic, The Salvation Army will host a Thanksgiving meal. It just won't be the same as in the past.

Salvation Army Center of Hope Director Brian Vogeler said the meal is intended to make people feel at home. It is intended to be a time when people can gather, watch football, and be with friends and family.

To prevent spread of COVID-19, communities are preventing most large indoor gatherings, which is typically required for a Thanksgiving dinner.

"We realize there are a lot of people who don't have family or maybe can't get to their family," Vogeler said. "We thought, 'Maybe we can eat together as a family.' We opened the dining room and put football on the TV."

Instead, this Thanksgiving, the dinner will be done through carry-out, Vogeler said.

The center has always offered free meals to the needy and hungry. However, as soon as the pandemic broke out, it was forced to provide the meals in to-go boxes, he said.

That change may have had a dampening effect on the number of meals the center served.

"When we first started the to-go meals, (attendees) went down significantly," Vogeler said. "But they've come back up."

The Salvation Army offers two meals each Thanksgiving - 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. - to make certain everybody who wants the meal can receive it.

This year, the center wants people to know staff are still thinking about them.

"We still care about you. You're still a priority with The Salvation Army," Vogeler said. "Unfortunately, we can't do what we'd like for you this year."

People can still come by for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of turkey and ham, green beans, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sides and desserts.

They don't have to make a reservation or call in advance.

"Just come by and pick up a meal," Vogeler said. "Go ahead and come by."

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Building Community Bridges

The recently formed nonprofit Building Community Bridges hosted an inaugural Thanksgiving meal in 2019.

This year, instead, it is offering a take-home meal package for folks to prepare for themselves, BCB Executive Director Alicia Edwards said.

"We've reorganized to do Thanksgiving boxes instead of dinner," Edwards said. "The boxes are non-cooked meals."

Boxes include a turkey, stuffing mix, chicken stock, instant mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, canned green beans, canned pumpkin pie filling and cranberry sauce.

To sign up for a box, text "FOOD BOX" and your name to 573-832-3426.

Boxes may be picked up at BCB, 213 E. Ashley St. in Jefferson City, during the BCB food pantry hours - 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday and 3-6 p.m. Tuesday.

"This will be a new experience," Edwards said. "Last year was the first year we did the Thanksgiving dinner. We'd like to continue, but we'd rather be safe than sorry."

The nonprofit still wishes to give back to the community during Thanksgiving, she added. Greg's Roofing donated turkeys again this year, and BCB is getting support from the Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri.

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First Baptist Church

During any normal year, Michael Ferguson would prepare enough food at First Baptist Church to feed 600-700 people on Thanksgiving.

First Baptist Church has hosted a Thanksgiving meal since 1991, said the Rev. Melissa Hatfield, pastor of youth and missions.

"The big change we're doing is no inside-seat dining," Hatfield said. "There is only going to be delivery, and we do have some pick-up options."

The church asks that people who want meals call by the end of the day today. Call 573-634-3603 to make arrangements for how many meals you will need.

To properly social distance, the church can only staff enough volunteers to prepare about 450 meals.

"We needed to shrink that number down to meet our guidelines," Hatfield said. "We won't be allowing any guests to come into the building."

The church will also deliver meals to Hamilton and Dulle Towers today.

First Baptist Church, as a Thanksgiving tradition, also delivers holiday meals to first responders and others who have to work on Thanksgiving.

If you find yourself wanting a Thanksgiving meal and haven't made arrangements, that might be OK. The church intends to set aside enough food for about 50 meals should anyone show up unannounced.

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Holts Summit Soup Kitchen

The Holts Summit Soup Kitchen's annual Thanksgiving meal has also gone - somewhat - mobile. It will also be carry-out only.

The kitchen does its holiday meals (Thanksgiving and Christmas) a week early because it is closed on the holidays. So Thanksgiving is this Thursday in Holts Summit.

The traditional meal may be picked up beginning at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Holts Summit Civic Center, 282 Greenway Drive. Distribution is expected to take about an hour (until about 5:30 p.m.)

People will be asked to walk through a line (while maintaining social distance) to receive traditional Thanksgiving meals in to-go boxes.

If you are unable to climb stairs, park in the handicap space and meals will be carried out to you.

This item was edited to correct the day of the soup kitchen's distribution.

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Liberty Road Baptist Church

Liberty Road Baptist Church is going to host a dine-in or carry-out Thanksgiving meal this Saturday.

"We feel that there's a need out there to feed the hungry," said Jackie Allen, chair of the church's Women's Ministry team. "We'll have traditional Thanksgiving food."

The menu includes turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pies and other goodies.

"God has blessed us through 2020, which has been a trying year," Allen said. "We do have room for people to spread out."

The event is 5-8 p.m. Saturday at the church, 7815 Liberty Road.

The church is taking reservations so it knows how much food to cook, she said.

People interested may RSVP by texting "Feast" to 573-345-2659. Or they can call and leave their name and phone number. They may also send an email to [email protected].

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Immaculate Conception, American Legion dinners canceled

The pandemic has caused organizers of the annual Immaculate Conception Community Thanksgiving Dinner, which started in 2007, to cancel the annual event out of concern for parishioners and the community.

"The generous donations of food that have already been made are extremely appreciated and will still go to those in need (through the Salvation Army and Samaritan Center)," an announcement on the Immaculate Conception website says. "We are saddened to share this update but look forward to continuing this wonderful tradition in 2021."

About 15 years ago, folks from the church had attended The Salvation Army's annual Thanksgiving dinner and realized there was a widespread need to feed families throughout the city. After a modest start of about 60 people, the dinner began to grow, and by 2017, it fed about 1,200 people annually.

Volunteers will still prepare and distribute meals to Hamilton and Dulle Towers, organizers said.

Jefferson City's Roscoe Enloe American Legion Post 5 also will not host its annual Thanksgiving dinner this year, Post Commander Gary Kempker said.

"A lot of our members are up there in years. We just didn't feel like it was a good time to have a social gathering," Kempker said. "A lot of people are disappointed."

However, there really is no way to host the dinner like the post has in the past while safeguarding the public, he said.

He encourages people to have small dinners in small groups with their families.