As it has done for a decade now, Immanuel Baptist Church in Hoquiam will be handing out turkey dinners on Thanksgiving, albeit a little bit differently than in years past.
Having to adapt in the COVID-19 era, the church has adjusted how it will pass out hundreds of dinners in its annual Thanksgiving event — incorporating masks, safety measures and take-out services — in order to keep the beloved and beneficial tradition going.
Aside from the standard coronavirus measures of mask-wearing and sanitation measures, Immanuel Baptist’s Thanksgiving dinner will be a drive through instead of sit-down service at the church, as has been done in the past.
“Normally what we get is a rush of people coming in and enjoying dinner and a football game,” Immanuel Church volunteer Mike Burgess said. “We want everyone to have a good time and enjoy the food. They are welcome to eat it, they just can’t enter the building.”
The church plans to hand out approximately 500-600 free dinners to all comers on Thanksgiving day starting at noon and ending at approximately 3 p.m.
Dinners will be boxed and delivered in a take-out format. While some of the variety is limited compared to food choices from previous years, Burgess explained the quality of the meal is not sacrificed in the process.
“It’s a good meal with good portions,” he said, adding that everything one needs to enjoy a home-cooked style Thanksgiving dinner is inside the box. “Nothing is scrimped on.”
Fifteen to 17 turkeys will be cooked for the feast and Burgess stated the church has enough food to feed approximately 600 people. In case the need arises to feed more than 600, Burgess said they have eight hams available to feed additional attendees.
In addition to the turkey dinners, Immanuel Baptist neighbor Coastal Harvest is providing 500 boxes of fruits and vegetables to be passed out free of charge.
“It’s really a neat thing,” Burgess said of the cooperation between the two organizations. “I’ve seen the fruit and vegetables and it’s just well done.”
While Burgess stated church volunteers are prepared for Thursday’s event there is still uncertainty due to the odd nature of performing such charity work in the COVID era.
“The biggest part is we’re not sure how many will attend,” he said. “This year, we’re guessing it could be greater (than 500-600 meals) or not. We just don’t know.”
A lesser-known aspect of what the church has done in the past regarding its Thanksgiving feast is providing transportation for anywhere from 40 to 60 people to attend the feast. But because of COVID, church volunteers won’t be able to pick up people to attend the feast. Rather than leave dozens without a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving day, the church came up with an alternative solution. The church will deliver meals to those who have previously signed-up, and at last count nearly 200 meals were scheduled to be delivered.
Burgess explained that while changing the process of providing Thanksgiving meals to hundreds of people has been a daunting task, Pastor Kent Gravley and the church volunteer staff enjoy taking on the challenge.
“It might be like a beehive in the beginning, but at the end it will be a ballet,” he said. “I’m just one part of a whole system there that makes it work, and we love to serve them. … It’s just a way for the church to help and encourage the community. It’s been pretty effective in doing that I think. I know it makes everyone down there feel good about doing it.”
For further information or to find out about volunteer opportunities, call 360-533-2012 or visit www.ghibc.com.
Church volunteers work in the kitchen at Immanuel Baptist Church ahead of a previous year’s Thanksgiving Day festivities. PHOTO COURTESY OF IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH
