Community Thanksgiving Preparations Under Way at Portland Club This Afternoon

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Nick DeSouza, Warehouse Manager, at Wayside, Shows One of the 120 Donated Punpkin Pies for the Community Thanksgiving at Portland Club, Tomorrow.

Julie Harrison, Community Meals Manager, Puts Vegetables from Pineland in the Walkin Refrigerator This Afternoon.

Mary Zwolinsky, Director of the Food Program, at Wayside This Afternoon.

One more thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving is that you don’t need to feed 250 guests – because that’s exactly what employees of the Wayside Food Programs were busy getting ready to do tomorrow.  The annual Community Thanksgiving will be served tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm. at the Portland Club, 156 State Street, Portland.  Everyone is welcome!

Shortly after 2:00 pm today Wayside employees arrived at the 131 year old Club  and began removing donated food from a truck and loading it into the walkin refrigerator in the kitchen at the Club.  It took about l/2 hour to unload all the trimmings for tomorrow’s dinner – pumpkin pies, mashed potatoes, stuffing, loaves of bread, green been casseroles, salads, and  cranberry sauce.  Twenty turkeys were donated by Hannaford Brothers.  They were cooked this morning and are being carved today said Mary Zwolinski, Director of the Wayside Food Programs.  They will be delivered to the Club early tomorrow morning.  Mary and her crew will arrive tomorrow at 8:00 am and begin heating up the dinner to be served starting at 11:00 am.  They get to celebrate Thanksgiving by mid-afternoon.

This annual Community Thanksgiving is open to people who don’t want to spend the holiday by themselves.  “It’s also for seniors who don’t want to cook for themselves,” said Zwolinsky.  This is the seventh year that Wayside has hosted this event.  Previously the United Way hosted the 20 year old Community Thanksgiving.  Food donations came from Hannaford Brothers, Pineland and Whole Foods.

“Set your Thanksgiving table with gratitude,” said Rev. Jeannette A. Good, minister of the across the street  State Street Congregational Church, Sunday.