MOUNT VERNON — In a year that’s seen COVID-19 restrict social gatherings and strain relationships, community members are joining forces to ensure that Thanksgiving doesn’t fall victim to the virus.
Under the inspiration of local resident Stuart Washington, the Knox County Chapter of the Byron Saunders Foundation, Free Community Thanksgiving Dinner Mount Vernon, Interchurch Social Services, and The Salvation Army are partnering to provide 1,500 meals for Knox County families.
Meals will be distributed in a drive-through format from noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25, at Lakeholm Church of the Nazarene, 16001 Glen Road. A second distribution will be held at The Salvation Army, 206 E. Ohio Ave., from 2 to 3 p.m.
Each person must present a voucher to receive a meal. Vouchers can be picked up at The Salvation Army or Interchurch Social Services, 306 W. Gambier St.
“Each voucher equals one meal,” explained Capt. Christine Moretz of The Salvation Army. “A family will receive a voucher for each individual in that family or household. These meals are for anyone who is in need of a holiday meal for any reason.”
The community meals effort began with Washington, who for years has prepared a Thanksgiving dinner at Lakeholm Church for about 365 people.
“With all of this insanity going on and not being able to have a full-church buffet, it kind of left a hole,” said Washington. “So I started thinking what could we do to keep things normal and not let things overwhelm us.”
Washington said that Thanksgiving should be a time spent with family and friends. At Lakeholm, he focuses on a community meal, a meal where church members invite family and friends to all eat together.
“So this is just a natural outreach of that, trying to build a community,” he explained. “Whether we are actually related or not, we are all related to each other.”
When asked by Washington to help organize the distribution of 1,000 meals, Jerry Scott, also a Lakeholm Church member, didn’t hesitate, “knowing there are a lot of people in our community who are in need.”
“As a board member for The Salvation Army, I knew The Salvation Army and Interchurch Social Services have always collaborated for Christmas,” he explained. “The Byron Saunders Foundation also is heavily involved with the Thanksgiving meal, and Sarah Wood also is involved, so we pulled the four groups together.”
The groups met with Washington in October. The 1,000 meals grew to 1,500, and the theme “Together Thankful” quickly surfaced.
Because a free community Thanksgiving meal is normally provided at the Memorial Building in Mount Vernon, The Salvation Army does not provide a Thanksgiving meal in Knox County. However, Sarah Wood, coordinator of the community meal, canceled this year’s meal due to COVID-19.
“I was very concerned and definitely in prayer. We wanted to keep everyone safe, but we also wanted to provide a meal if at all possible,” said Wood of the decision to cancel. “When Jerry Scott called me, I could have jumped off the roof!
“I was in prayer, my daughter and I had discussed it, and my mom and I had discussed it, trying to figure out just exactly what to do because we can’t really socially distance as far as preparing the meal at the Memorial Building,” she continued. “To socially distance people and have one family at a table would’ve been very difficult to serve our community. So I thought, ‘oh, thank you Lord, this is definitely an answer to our prayers because we can collaborate with everyone, we can serve our community, and hopefully, put a smile on those faces who would otherwise not have a meal.’”
Wood said she and her team had talked about doing to-go meals but decided against it due to the shortage of resources and manpower.
“So to me [the group collaboration] was definitely an answer to prayer because you don’t ever want to cancel a meal when you know people do depend on it and look forward to it,” she said. “I cried because I was so happy that God had made a way that I definitely hadn’t even thought about doing.”
ISS does not provide a Thanksgiving meal, either, and typically refers families to Wood and the Knox County Chapter of the Byron Saunders Foundation.
“We are certainly excited to collaborate with other agencies on this wonderful Thanksgiving opportunity,” said Cristy Miller, ISS financial aid counselor.
The Byron Saunders Foundation receives names and addresses anonymously for families who have a need. Those families receive the items needed to prepare a Thanksgiving meal. They also receive a certificate that they can redeem for a meat item from a local grocer.
“The advantage of working with the community for this Thanksgiving holiday is catching anyone who may fall through the cracks and not have a meal,” said Ginny Williams, president of the Knox County Chapter BSF. “Our meals need to be prepared, but we may find a situation where a family cannot fix a meal. Working together, we’re able to provide a voucher for a pre-made meal for Thanksgiving through the generosity of another community group. This is just one more way to help those in our community who have a need.”
Moretz said that The Salvation Army has always been in the business of feeding people, following the motto ‘Soup, Soap and Salvation’ as spoken by its founder, William Booth.
“Feeding the hungry, coming alongside those who find themselves in need, caring for the lost and broken: That is who we are, not just what we do. Following Jesus’ example, ‘Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers that you do to me also’ is our calling and is part of our DNA,” she said. “We are an Army and we fight for good. Working with this community — this army behind the Army — is just another example of the kind, caring and generous community that we, The Salvation Army, are privileged and honored to be part of. There is joy in The Salvation Army; being part of this Thanksgiving meal and being able to provide this meal to others is part of that joy.”
For Scott, it’s no surprise that individuals and groups come together on behalf of the community.
“I have had the privilege of working in all 88 counties, and I truly believe there is not a more giving community than Knox,” he said. “This is a very typical example of the giving community within Knox County, to come together to collaborate and solve a problem.”
Lakeholm Church of the Nazarene, along with private donations, is funding the cost of the drive-through meals. For more information call The Salvation Army at 740-392-8716, Interchurch Social Services at 740-397-2407, or The Byron Saunders Foundation at 740-485-0864.
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