Stanislaus groups continue Thanksgiving traditions serving warm meals different ways
The pandemic may have changed some Thanksgiving traditions, but a good meal prepared with care and given freely remains something hundreds in the community were thankful for this year.
Some charity groups returned to sit-down community meals this year, after being canceled last year due to COVID-19. But others continued new, socially distanced traditions as a way to give back this Thanksgiving.
A few hundred people got a turkey meal with all the trimmings at the Modesto Gospel Mission’s annual Great Thanksgiving Banquet & Bundle-Up on Wednesday and left with jackets, hats and gloves to keep them warm this winter.
After holding the event outdoors last year, and with takeout meals, the mission fed families in its dining room. They then went into the adjoining chapel to select clothing. And just outside the chapel exit were tables laden with beanies , care bags filled with more clothing and toiletries, and plastic barrels full of more warm clothing.
About a dozen miles away in Waterford, a new tradition continued as the Waterford Ministerial Association hosted its seventh annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday. This is the second year in a row the volunteer group offered meals by drive-thru pickup.
Last year, before running out of food, the group served more than 260 meals made for community members — more than it ever had attend its sit-down meals. This year, the volunteers prepared enough for more than 300.
“Last year, we couldn’t do sit-down because of the virus,” said Waterford event organizer Marlene Jobe, who started out just making extra food for friends and acquaintances, which later grew to a community meal that feeds hundreds. “We had such a good turnout last year, we decided to do it again this year. Because of the coronavirus, we didn’t want to get to the point where we were causing problems.”
Modesto Gospel Mission Executive Director Jason Conway said the mission could hold a safe event by limiting how many families it let into its dining room at any one time and through physical distancing. Volunteers and staff wore face masks.
Modesto resident Rocio Berber, 25, said the food was good and the clothing is a big help. She came with her 3-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter, as well as her mom, Serafina Berber, her 27-year-old sister and her sister’s three children.
Berber needed a coat that would hold up against the rain. She works as a veterinary technician and is in out of the business often because owners wait outside to provide for physical distancing as their pets are being treated.
“When we go shopping, the prices are high, especially now,” she said. “If we can get free coats for the the kids or us, it’s a great help, especially during this time when the kids want a toy during Christmas. It’s a really good event they have. It’s really nice that they have it.”
The event also draws lots of community volunteers. Ruben Torres was among them. His job was to clear the tables after families had finished eating so the next round of families could sit down to their meal.
The 60-something Modesto resident said this was his first time as a volunteer. He usually spends Thanksgiving with his dad in Southern California, but the pandemic put a stop to that. “My dad is 87 years old,” Torres said. “I don’t want to take a chance giving him the virus.”
Torres spent last Thanksgiving at home but volunteered this year to thank the mission for helping him when he got out of prison in 2014. “They let me stay here (for 30 days) until I found a place to live. ... So now I thought I’d give back to the community. They helped me out.”
Waterford’s community dinner had cars lining up for the morning pickup start time. Jobe and more than a dozen volunteers prepared the feast, making 13 turkeys that were served with stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.
Jobe said she was particularly touched this year that the children and grandchildren of the late Kathy Smith, who helped organize and grow the community dinner, were helping in the kitchen this year.
The lines were shorter this year than last, but Jobe and the other volunteers said they were just happy to help people any way they could for the holiday.
Those who stopped by came through for a variety of reasons. Some had to work and appreciated the prepared meal. Others live alone, like Waterford resident Neil Jacobson, who lives across the street from the Waterford Assembly of God Church, which hosts the meal.
The 89-year-old lost his wife almost a decade ago, and appreciated the food and the company of the Thanksgiving event. He walked across the road to pick up his turkey dinner, and chatted with the volunteers for a while.
“I would do it myself. I have cooked Thanksgiving dinners. But when you get to be where I am, living by myself, it’s too much cooking. So this is so nice.”
