By Ann Marie Bush, Topeka Capital-Journal, November 17, 2010
It is nearly turkey time, and Myron Johnson, president of the Community Thanksgiving Dinner Foundation, is extending an invitation to the community to "come out and enjoy one of the best turkey meals in Topeka."
On the menu for the 43rd annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner: turkey with all of the trimmings — dressing, candied yams, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, bread, and a drink.
The event is free and open to the public, Johnson said.
COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING DINNER
What: A free turkey dinner with all of
the trimmings.
Where: Ag Hall at the Kansas Expocentre
When: Delivery is from 10 a.m. to noon
Thanksgiving Day. Dine-in meals will be
served from noon to 3 p.m. To schedule
a delivery, call (785) 270-5599. Calls are
accepted until noon Nov. 24.
Although the traditional Thanksgiving fare will be the same, there are a few things the foundation is doing a little differently this year.
"The main thing is that the Topeka Rescue Mission is taking calls for people who want to volunteer," Johnson said. "And the Topeka Rescue Mission isn't going to have their Thanksgiving meal on Thanksgiving like they usually do. They are going to bus their people over here. We are preparing for 3,000 people this year."
Barry Feaker, executive director of the Topeka Rescue Mission, said 624 community volunteers already have stepped up to help out. There are about 10 spaces that need to be filled Monday and Tuesday.
"It has been great to work with them," Feaker said of the foundation.
A volunteer bus driver will help transport people from the mission Thanksgiving Day to Agricultural Hall at the Kansas Expocentre, where the meal will be served. Food left over from the dinner will be donated to the mission and other charitable organizations.
"With that leftover food, we were able to bless a lot of folks last year during Christmas," Feaker said. "The food helped us provide food baskets for 1,300-plus people."
Johnson, 46, has been a part of the dinner since 1968, when his mother, Pauline Johnson, and the late Addie Spicher had the first Community Thanksgiving Dinner for 69 people at East Topeka United Methodist Church, 708 S.E. Lime.
"It's always been a part of my life," he said. "My mother will be there this year, too."
The dinner takes hundreds of volunteers — from drivers to deliver meals to cooks and servers.
The foundation this year is going to honor a volunteer and member of the board who died in February, Johnson said.
"She was at the dinner every year," he said of Kathy A. Smith. "Her son is in on tour in Iraq. He is going to come home to help honor his mother. It is really a big deal. She spent about half of her life helping."
Last year, volunteers served 2,725 meals through delivery and dine-in, Johnson said.
"That was the highest ever," he said.
Food donations are being accepted at any Topeka Fire Department fire station, and cash donations are accepted at any CoreFirst Bank & Trust. Beginning Monday, food donations can be dropped off between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. at Ag Hall. Donations are accepted there through Wednesday.
Deliveries will begin at 10 a.m. Thanksgiving day. Dine-in meals will be served from noon until 3 p.m.
"Everyone is invited," Johnson said. "Everybody should come on out and enjoy one of the best turkey meals in Topeka."
Ann Marie Bush can be reached at (785) 295-1207 or ann.bush@cjonline.com.