‘Everybody’s welcome’ to attend community Thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving, the quintessential family-gathering holiday, is one of those heart-warming occasions that often means different things to different people.

It not only celebrates the harvest, but other blessings of the past year — “Now is no time to think of what you do not have,” Ernest Hemingway said. “Think of what you can do with what there is.”

But aside from the grateful coziness of kith and kin, there is the feast that is oftentimes unsurpassed throughout the year.

And that’s what the annual Community Thanksgiving dinner endeavors to provide through the collaborative effort of the Se- quoyah County Resource Network.

Set for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the ninth annual free dinner is open to everyone, not just for those in need.

“It’s not necessarily a low-income thing,” says Melissa Lowe, Sequoyah County coordinator/director for Ki-Bois Community Action Foundation. “Some people aren’t necessarily in need of food, they just want to go socialize. A lot of people are alone on Thanksgiving, so everybody’s welcome. If you wanna come for the camaraderie of sittin’ around and eating, it’s open to anybody. The food’s always good.”

And as expected, the dinner will feature a full Thanksgiving feast of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans and a roll, says Lindsie Dyer, a youth and family service counselor at People Inc., which is a member of the Sequoyah County Resource Network. The resource network was formed several years ago to assist the community in meeting its needs, whether in the form of school supplies for students, Christmas gifts for children or providing food, but also much more.

“We are very grateful for all those in the community who provide donations,” Dyer says. “Without them, this wouldn’t be possible.

“We want to create a warm, familylike environment for those attending. We also want everyone to come in and sit down and relax and not worry about anything except spending time with their loved ones,” Dyer says. “Therefore, everyone will be waited on, from drinks to their meal all the way to the desserts. We have several carts that we load desserts onto, and then volunteers stay busy going from table to table so you get to choose your dessert.”

And Lowe is quick to give credit where credit’s due, and Dyer echoed the sentiment. “The middle school’s cafeteria cooks are actually the ones who cook and prepare the meal, so it’s all made there at the school,” Lowe says. “We still need donations to make it possible, but the cooks prepare the meals.”

Except for desserts. “We are looking for donations of desserts, anything from cookies to cakes to pies, we will take them,” Dyer says. “We are looking to serve approximately 600 meals this year, so we will need a lot of desserts.”

Those wishing to donate desserts should call Lowe at 918-776-0848, and someone will arrange to pick up the desserts.

Donations — both financial and desserts — are rarely a concern, however.

“We’ve always had a huge response,” Lowe says. “We’ve always had lots of generous donors, lots of generous individual bakers that always pitch in. Lots of people come to help. It’s been a great project.”

The Community Thanksgiving dinner is supported entirely by donations. “It is still all donations. We get money to buy the food and we have to buy all the paper goods, and then we give the cooks, who are working on their off time, a gift card.”

While thinking of others is heightened with the onset of the holiday season, donations for the community dinner are accepted year-round. Checks should be made payable to KiBois Community Action, and Lowe can provide donors with a receipt. She says people attending the dinner sometimes also donate cash.

What has grown into an annual highlight not only for the holidays but for the year, began as happenstance.

“It started out when a friend of mine (Debbie Stiles) who used to run a homeless shelter came into my office just lookin’ for resources for a Thanksgiving dinner — who was doin’ anything?” Lowe recalls. “At the time, nobody was. So that kinda got the idea spurrin’ in my head. It was in November when she approached me, so we only had about two and a half weeks to pull this off. I just called some of my friends that worked at different agencies, and I spearheaded it and got it goin’, and we served 600 people that first year at The Shed in Sallisaw.”

The reliance on the generosity of the community has continued.

And as long as the donations continue and people continue to show up not only to volunteer but also to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal and fellowship, “we plan on doin’ it as many years as we can,” Lowe says.

“In the past we have had families who couldn’t make it out of town to be with their loved ones, people who just simply couldn’t afford a huge meal like this and, of course, some of my favorites, the veterans in our community. We love serving these guys, and they most definitely deserve it. The information and stories they share with all of us are some that we will forever cherish,” Dyer says.

To ensure plenty of food for those who attend in person, Dyer says carry out meals will not be allowed until 12:30 p.m.

Should there be extra food at the end of the day, Dyer promises it won’t go to waste. When that has happened in the past, “we were able to serve the extra meals we had available to the sheriff’s office as well as a few other entities. After all, that is why we do this, to give back to those in the community.”

KATS will transport residents living in the Sallisaw city limits to and from the dinner free of charge.

The resource network was formed several years ago to assist the community in meeting its needs, whether that be school supplies for the kids, Christmas gifts for the children, food and much more. Resource network partners are KiBois Community Action Foundation, People Inc., Cherokee Nation, Sallisaw NOW Coalition, Sallisaw Health and Wellness, Boys & Girls Club, KiBois Area Transit System and Mix 105.1.