http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/alone-thanksgiving-don-t-go-hungry_25722.mp3
Thanksgiving is a holiday known for family and food. However, some in the Ozarks aren’t able to connect with loved ones or have a good meal. For those of you who might not have any holiday plans scheduled, there are a couple of ministries hosting free holiday dinners and activities this weekend. Their message? No one should be alone over Thanksgiving. KSMU’s Rebekah Clark has more.
For those of you with no holiday plans this Thanksgiving, look no further. Prince of Peace Lutheran Church is just one of the groups around the city hosting a Thanksgiving feast on Thursday. Pastor Katherine Hays says this year she expects a large variety of people to come.
“We’ve got folks that come because they’re alone, they don’t any family in the area and they don’t want to eat alone, so they join our family. Actually, I’m like that. Like I said, I just moved here in August, so I will be here. We even have whole families that will come because they just want to be in an environment where there’s lots of different people.”
Hays also said that the congregation knits hats throughout the year to give to the homeless during the dinner. People interested can get their hats and food either at the church, or they can call to have the food brought to them.
“A lot of the folks who call aren’t able to drive, they’re homebound. We’ve had shut-ins call us to bring meals; we have family members who have called concerned about others. They might know of a neighbor who may not be getting anything, and they’re going to be out of town, so they call us to bring it.”
Any people interested in the event must make a reservation with the church by Tuesday at noon. The church does ask that attendees bring a canned item of food. You can visit KSMU.org for more information.
Other organizations are holding holiday festivities as well. Missouri State University will offer a free Thanksgiving dinner to all international students on Tuesday night. The meal will include traditional Thanksgiving Day food like turkey, potatoes, rice, vegetables, cranberry sauce, and desserts with whipped topping.
Yuva Sugumar, or “Yogi” as his friends like to call him, works as a graduate assistant for the multicultural services on campus. He’s helping head up the dinner tomorrow night. Yogi is from India, and says that this event is a good way for international students like him to better understand the American holiday.
“We have people who come and talk about Thanksgiving. They come and tell us why it’s celebrated and why (we have) the turkey tradition. It’s a good thing for international students to know about this Thanksgiving dinner. We usually have about 200-300 people who come to this event and have dinner with us.”
The MSU dinner is open to current students. International students eat free.
For KSMU News, I’m Rebekah Clark.
Link to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church: click here