As families gathered around their tables this week to give thanks and enjoy time together, Midland’s Open Door held two community Thanksgiving meals.
The first meal, which took place Wednesday afternoon, featured a traditional turkey lunch with all the fixings. On Thursday evening, Open Door hosted an Italian feast. The meal included carbonara, chicken parmesan and beef ragu.
Renee Pettinger, executive director of Midland’s Open Door, explained that the tradition of providing both a traditional turkey dinner and Italian dinner started in 2016. The idea was to take a break from the influx of Thanksgiving food donations.
“We get a lot of people donating Thanksgiving food items in the days before Thanksgiving,” Pettinger said. “And our guests were really weary of the turkey and stuffing.”
There are still opportunities to provide gifts of funds, food, clothing and other items to Midland’s Open Door. Visit https://www.midlandopendoor.org/ to learn more.
Preparations began on Tuesday and finished on Wednesday for the first meal. Another round of volunteers came in on Wednesday night to prepare for Thursday’s feast. Pettinger estimated about 20 volunteers in total helped with both meals.
On Monday, Pettinger estimated that 100 meals would be served on Wednesday and 120-130 meals would be served on Thursday.
“The past couple years have been different because of COVID,” she said. “One hundred fifty is about the average for holiday meals.”
Midland’s Open Door’s tradition of providing a Thanksgiving meal dates back to 2015. At the time, only a couple of churches were providing dinners for the holiday. Midland’s Open Door decided to provide a community dining experience, welcoming Open Door guests, those in need and all residents who wished to come.
“This is a pretty tight-knit community, almost like family for some,” Pettinger stated.
One of Pettinger’s favorite memories was Christmastime in 2014, when a guest expressed a wish to pray over the meal. During the prayer, they expressed gratitude for the opportunity to gather as friends.
“It was an encourage confirmation that this is something we should be doing,” Pettinger said.