Charles City group sponsors Thanksgiving dinner delivery

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

CC Cares couldn’t serve food inside on Thanksgiving Day, but the local organization set up a pretty efficient system of Thanksgiving meal pickup in the parking lot of Messiah Lutheran Church in Charles City.

Hundreds of cars buzzed though and picked up a Thanksgiving dinner to take home. Each dinner consisted of a generous portion of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, a dinner roll and a pumpkin bar. Organizer Kimberly Watkins said before the event that they were supplied with enough food for 600 meals.

A freewill donation was requested from each diner, and the money raised will provide seed money for future community dinners and other CC Cares community events. The group also delivered meals to the homes of people who could not get out. Deliveries were pre-arranged.

In the past, the community meals have been designed as a way to help ensure no one has to eat alone during the holiday. Last year, more than 350 people gathered inside the church. CC Cares has been putting on the meals on Thanksgiving Day for more than 25 years.

The group is also planning to provide a meal on Christmas this year.