Duluth residents Alex Palmgren and Floyd-Allen Johansson lined up gobs of cookie dough in rows of four on baking pans. As he put the pans in the oven, Johansson noted that he takes homemade meals for granted. "It's a given for me, where most people don't have that ability so it's kind of cool to be able to serve in the capacity," he said. The duo were among more than dozen volunteers preparing potatoes, cranberries and cookies in the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center's kitchen on Tuesday afternoon. The food will eventually make its way to the plates of thousands of diners at the 27th annual Twin Ports Region Thanksgiving Buffet on Thursday. Palmgren has been volunteering for the dinner for the past four years. "There's a lot of homeless people in Duluth. You see them walking all over, starving to death, begging for money ... some of them are actually out there needing the money for their family and the kids really need this," Palmgren said. "That's a huge deal and that's what we want to try to provide for the community." The Thanksgiving Buffet will be served from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the DECC. The Duluth Transit Authority is offering free bus rides Thursday. Special shuttle buses, named Turkey Bus 1 and Turkey Bus 2, will depart from selected sites in the Twin Ports and travel directly to the DECC. More information can be found at duluthtransit.com. Throughout the week, 650 volunteers will file through the DECC's kitchen to complete a few hours worth of food preparation for the dinner, hosted by the College of St. Scholastica. Preparation began with the arrival of 2,200 pounds of turkey at the DECC on Friday. When it's all done, there will also be 2,200 pounds of potatoes, 500 gallons of gravy and 6,000 rolls and pumpkin bars ready to go for Thursday's meal, organizer Monica Hendrickson said. Organizers plan to serve 6,000 people and have also prepared 2,000 bag lunches of turkey sandwiches for people to take with them for an additional meal. They try to make the meal as homemade as they can, Hendrickson said. The total number includes about 1,500 meals delivered to people at home. Many of the home meal requests come from widows and widowers, said Hendrickson, who takes the requests over the phone. "You can hear their voice quivering because they can have a great meal and it's that little bit of companionship they get when somebody comes to deliver their meal. It's probably a 5- or 10-minute interaction and it means the world to them. That's what keeps me going - the people who truly can't get out and don't have anyone and being able to help them. That's what keeps all of us engaged with it," she said.
Friends Kendra Sharkey and Sue Carlson of Duluth poured dozens of cans full of cranberries into large containers that will be ready to serve on Thanksgiving. Carlson recently moved to Duluth and agreed to volunteer when asked by Sharkey. "I'm retired so this is the first year I can volunteer," Sharkey said. Sharkey said she wanted to volunteer because she was aware of how many people eat a Thanksgiving meal at the event. Superior Choice Credit Union employees were finishing up the last 500 pounds of potatoes before moving on to peeling carrots on Tuesday. Credit union employee Sarah Hanson of Poplar, Wis., was among the 14 people peeling potatoes in her first year of helping prepare the food with her coworkers. She enjoyed hearing the different stories the volunteers were telling about their experiences preparing the Thanksgiving food at the DECC in previous years. She said she decided to volunteer for the three-hour shift because she wanted to give back. "It seems like a super nice thing to do to benefit so many people," she said. The credit union's CEO Gary Elliott noted that it's good to participate in activities that give back to the community. Standing among his employees peeling and dicing potatoes, he noted that the best part of volunteering for the Thanksgiving buffet is that it gives him time to spend time with the credit union workers. "It's nice to get out from behind a desk once in awhile," he said.Duluth residents Alex Palmgren and Floyd-Allen Johansson lined up gobs of cookie dough in rows of four on baking pans.As he put the pans in the oven, Johansson noted that he takes homemade meals for granted."It's a given for me, where most people don't have that ability so it's kind of cool to be able to serve in the capacity," he said.The duo were among more than dozen volunteers preparing potatoes, cranberries and cookies in the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center's kitchen on Tuesday afternoon. The food will eventually make its way to the plates of thousands of diners at the 27th annual Twin Ports Region Thanksgiving Buffet on Thursday.Palmgren has been volunteering for the dinner for the past four years."There's a lot of homeless people in Duluth. You see them walking all over, starving to death, begging for money ... some of them are actually out there needing the money for their family and the kids really need this," Palmgren said. "That's a huge deal and that's what we want to try to provide for the community."The Thanksgiving Buffet will be served from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the DECC. The Duluth Transit Authority is offering free bus rides Thursday. Special shuttle buses, named Turkey Bus 1 and Turkey Bus 2, will depart from selected sites in the Twin Ports and travel directly to the DECC. More information can be found at duluthtransit.com.Throughout the week, 650 volunteers will file through the DECC's kitchen to complete a few hours worth of food preparation for the dinner, hosted by the College of St. Scholastica.Preparation began with the arrival of 2,200 pounds of turkey at the DECC on Friday. When it's all done, there will also be 2,200 pounds of potatoes, 500 gallons of gravy and 6,000 rolls and pumpkin bars ready to go for Thursday's meal, organizer Monica Hendrickson said.Organizers plan to serve 6,000 people and have also prepared 2,000 bag lunches of turkey sandwiches for people to take with them for an additional meal. They try to make the meal as homemade as they can, Hendrickson said.The total number includes about 1,500 meals delivered to people at home. Many of the home meal requests come from widows and widowers, said Hendrickson, who takes the requests over the phone."You can hear their voice quivering because they can have a great meal and it's that little bit of companionship they get when somebody comes to deliver their meal. It's probably a 5- or 10-minute interaction and it means the world to them. That's what keeps me going - the people who truly can't get out and don't have anyone and being able to help them. That's what keeps all of us engaged with it," she said.
Friends Kendra Sharkey and Sue Carlson of Duluth poured dozens of cans full of cranberries into large containers that will be ready to serve on Thanksgiving. Carlson recently moved to Duluth and agreed to volunteer when asked by Sharkey."I'm retired so this is the first year I can volunteer," Sharkey said.Sharkey said she wanted to volunteer because she was aware of how many people eat a Thanksgiving meal at the event.Superior Choice Credit Union employees were finishing up the last 500 pounds of potatoes before moving on to peeling carrots on Tuesday.Credit union employee Sarah Hanson of Poplar, Wis., was among the 14 people peeling potatoes in her first year of helping prepare the food with her coworkers. She enjoyed hearing the different stories the volunteers were telling about their experiences preparing the Thanksgiving food at the DECC in previous years. She said she decided to volunteer for the three-hour shift because she wanted to give back."It seems like a super nice thing to do to benefit so many people," she said.The credit union's CEO Gary Elliott noted that it's good to participate in activities that give back to the community. Standing among his employees peeling and dicing potatoes, he noted that the best part of volunteering for the Thanksgiving buffet is that it gives him time to spend time with the credit union workers."It's nice to get out from behind a desk once in awhile," he said.
