Reservations for Holy Family Catholic Community’s Thanksgiving Meal to open November 2

Holy Family Catholic Community is continuing its Thanksgiving tradition of serving up 400 meals for neighbors this holiday.

Taking place the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Holy Family’s annual Takeout Thanksgiving Meal serves 400 free to-go meals to people in the area. There is no need requirement to reserve a meal. Anyone is welcome, including those who have families, those who will be alone, those who are homebound, and those who cannot afford dinner.

“A Thanksgiving meal is about far more than the food on your plate. Thanksgiving is about community, caring, connection, and recognizing the blessings in our lives, and that is especially true for our Takeout Thanksgiving Meal. It is about being there for our neighbors, in the ways we have been blessed to do so: sharing a meal, a smile, and the message that we are all in this together,” Holy Family Catholic Community Director of Human Concerns Erin Cobb said.

The program is fueled by generosity. Every year, people from across the parish and area donate money and food to fund Thanksgiving meals. They also give their time. Year after year, Holy Family parishioners and St. Mary’s Springs Academy high school seniors work to prepare the meals, peeling hundreds of potatoes, baking delicious desserts, packing each of the 400 dinners, and delivering them to cars in the drive-up line.

“One thing I love about our Thanksgiving Meal program is that we see many of the same volunteers return every year. Some of them have been with us since our first meal in 2020, and now have brought their families and friends to get involved, too. They’ve made it part of their own Thanksgiving tradition,” Cobb said.

This year’s meal will feature sliced turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, a bun, applesauce, and dessert. To register for a meal, please call the Holy Family Parish Office at (920) 921-0580 beginning at 8:00 am on Monday, November 2. When calling, those registering should state how many meals they will need and if they will pick meals for anyone else. While reservations are due by Friday, November 20 at noon, meals are available on a first-come, first-served basis and will be capped at 400.

Meals will be available for pickup on Wednesday, November 25 on the northeast side of the Holy Family Church and Parish Office, 271 Fourth Street Way, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

If you are interested in contributing to Holy Family’s Takeout Thanksgiving Meal, the parish is accepting monetary donations to help cover the cost of food. Donations can be sent to the Holy Family Catholic Community, 271 Fourth Street Way, Fond du Lac, WI 54937 with “Thanksgiving meal” in the memo line.

“What I find to be beautiful about our Thanksgiving meal is that it reminds us of the power of community. We might have never met the people who come through our drive-thru line, but that doesn’t stop them from sharing a moment of kindness and connection with our volunteers. A meal has always been a way to bring people together, and at our Takeout Thanksgiving Meal, everyone is our neighbor,” Cobb said.