FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Nov. 20, 2007
Shut-Ins, Homeless and the Needy receive Thanksgiving Meals
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church plans to feed 800 people
WINSTON-SALEM— Citing the Biblical story of the little boy who had fives loaves of bread and two fish that Jesus used to feed five thousand, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church Thanksgiving Day food drive coordinator John Allen said his team is prepared to feed up to 800 families and individuals who are needy, homeless, or shut-ins.
Allen said this is the ninth year that members of the church have served the community on Thanksgiving Day and that the outreach just keeps growing bigger every year. The church is a partner with the Winston-Salem Housing Authority who furnished the group with a long list of names from people who signed up to receive a Thanksgiving meal.
This year the program expanded unexpectedly when the Chris Paul 3 Foundation delivered 100 Butterball turkeys to their door. The foundation had received a donation of more than 7,000 lbs. of food from Smithfield Foods consisting of turkeys and hams designated for Winston-Salem and New Orleans, where Chris Paul plays basketball for the New Orleans Hornets.
“We knew there was a huge need out in the community because we’ve been getting so many from those in need. When we were contacted by Chris’s foundation and asked if we could use 100 turkeys, that was an answer to prayer,” Allen said.
Some of the turkeys have already been delivered to the Winston-Salem Rescue Mission, Samaritan Soup Kitchen, and to other churches that have Thanksgiving Day outreaches including Greensboro. There were so many turkeys, Twin City Quarters offered the use of their freezers to hold them until preparation, Allen said.
Men, women, and youth from the church arrive Thanksgiving Day morning and load up their cars and vans with pies, roasted turkeys, and other fixings that were prepared days in advance. One of the delivery men is 90 years old, Allen said. At some of the sites like Sunrise Towers, tables will be set up to serve sit-down meals. For those who are non-ambulatory, meals will be boxed and delivered to their rooms, he said.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday: The meats are still being cut and prepared. A team that begins putting the products ( plates, forks, cups,etc) for each facility in position for those teams on Thursday. Last year, four ladies from our church made homemade dressing that was so good that people were asking for it again. These ladies come in late Wednesday evening and make pans and pans of homemade dressing and gravy. Some of the men have been known to volunteer for the taste testing duties.
It is a fun time. Pies are still being cut, meats are being panned and counted.
Thanksgiving Day: Volunteers begin early in the morning preparing beans and warming foods before they are distributed and things get bundled. Groups begin leaving the building and are gone by 11:00am, so they can begin serving around 12 p.m. Once they are sent out, plates are individually prepared for delivery to facilities like Holland Homes, Alders Point for the sick and shut-ins. This year about 200 individual servings consisting of turkey, ham, beans, potatoes, bread and dessert will be home delivered. A group of men that will begin making those deliveries around 12:30pm.
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church is located at 2400 Dellabrook Rd. in Winston-Salem. For more information contact: John Allen at 577-9352.
Ralf Walters, Media Relations
Patterson Partners, Inc.
2606 Phoenix Drive, Suite 406
Greensboro, NC 27406
(336) 852-9430
http://www.pattersonpartnersinc.com
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