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Once More With Feeling

Once again this year the nonprofit community group “Grass Roots II” hosted its Community Dinner at the SLO Guild Hall at 2880 Broad St., on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Organizer Peggy Fowler said it was the organization’s 45th birthday in some ways tracing the founding to dinners at the home of Maxine Lewis, the woman for whom the nearby homeless shelter is named.
It was however their 46th meal served as the annual event started in 1972 after Lewis put the first one on by herself. The dinner has progressively grown over time but they’ve stuck to a goal of feeding around 2,000 people.
“I’ve been doing the organizing myself since after Maxine died in the 1980s,” Fowler said. “Every year about this time I start to think, ‘oh, I can’t do this myself,’ but I’ve never had to. The community does it.”
Held from noon to 5 p. m. Nov. 22, 131 turkeys donated from all over the County were cooked in the ovens at the California Mens Colony on Highway 1.
That help from their industrial kitchen has also become part of the tradition and responsible for the timing.
“They cook ours on Tuesday since they’ll need the ovens themselves tonight,” she added, noting that the idea to enlist that help from the Department of Corrections is being borrowed by the Pismo Beach Police Thanksgiving Meal this year.
Traditionally between 900 and 1,000 meals are taken out for delivery to people in apartment blocks or senior living facilities. In 2016, volunteers estimated that leftovers might also feed an additional 200 people at local homeless shelters.
Before taking on a role exclusively with Grassroots, Fowler had worked in homeless services for 22 years. She also manages an emergency food pantry during the rest of the year.
The meal in November is when that work is most visible, with a burst of hard work pouring out with volunteers from every segment of society, including, crucially, Fowler adds, children who’ve taken part since they were toddlers and have progressed in responsibility over the years.
“Some places won’t let the kids volunteer but its important for them,” she said. “[Service] becomes more real to them when they can see it all start with the turkey through to people eating and clean up.”
The children are not among those in the kitchen awake since 4 a.m. to get ready for the noon mealtime. Cooking actually started on Tuesday with prep as well, but explained six-year volunteer and organizer Tim Odenthal, there was an almost entirely new kitchen staff to whip into shape this year.
In turn at their kitchen stations he introduces; Robert Jenkins, promoted to chef after volunteering as a server in previous years; Bridgette Dice and Ken Gough preparing trays of stuffing; Diana Wagcott, slicing and dicing; and Alex Brown, a chef from the nearby Madonna Inn lending his skill on a day off.
It was Brown’s first year, volunteering with his mother Minnie Brown.
“She taught me,” he said, “to do whatever you can wherever you are. This is what I can do. At the restaurant or here, there’s no difference.”
Odenthal was particularly keen to point out, the multidenominational nature of those participating, congregation members from several local churches and a two-week donation drive leading up to the meal.
“No one asks for anything in return today except that everyone is happy,” he said, which doesn’t mean there aren’t other rewards, “All year round people recognize you around town after working here for the day. It’s good for the spirit of our community.”
Grassroots SLO can be reached at 544-2333.

Editors Note: This is likely to be the last Featured Folks column penned by Camas Frank in these pages, at the very least for some time. It is fitting then that the subject was able to be on a day and project all about giving thanks and on community. Words cannot express the deep gratitude that all writers given such platforms should feel for their readers and the people we’re allowed in your community. As the saying goes, “its not goodbye, it’s ‘til we meet again.”

-Story And Photos by Camas Frank

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