Organizations, volunteers offering Thanksgiving dinners retool operations amid COVID (Editorial)
Updated Nov 25, 2020; Posted Nov 25, 2020
11/28/2019 - Chicopee - Last year, the Fairview Knights of Columbus served thousands of people for Thanksgiving dinner. This is 11-year-old volunteer Mahki Chatman bringing the food out of the kitchen to serve to guests. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)
By The Republican Editorials
Last year the Fairview Knights of Columbus Council 4044 served around 4,000 dinners, both at the Castle of the Knights facility in Chicopee and with deliveries. In 2018, volunteer Jill Saraiva of Chicopee said the event is for the entire community, not just the homeless. "It's for everybody. Sometimes it might be a dad who has his children for the holidays and he doesn't know how to cook a turkey. It's no questions asked," Saraiva said.
But as COVID-10 cases surge throughout the state, Gov. Charlie Baker has restricted gatherings to 10 or fewer people. Matthew Cooke, grand knight, said after deliberating over six meetings, the council decided to cancel the event. The effort to operate, even at a smaller scale, would involve too many people. Cooke said, "There's no way we could safely deliver it… this is not a good feeling."
The K of C Thanksgiving dinner did not only help those in need, it offered an army of volunteers the opportunity to serve their friends and neighbors. And it provided a sense of pride and cohesion in the community. We are hopeful this event will be back next year stronger than ever.
Other organizations in the area have retooled their operations and will move forward serving meals. The Springfield Rescue Mission has served as many as 700 people in previous years but is now planning to provide to-go meals, which can be picked up today between 1 and 3 p.m. at their 10 Mill St. offices. The open Pantry Community Services of Springfield which usually serves its traditional Thanksgiving meal at the High School of Commerce will offer to-go containers on Thursday beginning at noon. Lorraine's soup kitchen intends to help fill the gap left by the Knights of Columbus. Nearly 500 meal kits will be available. Rachel's table is providing around 1,300 turkeys to a variety of agencies that serve the hungry in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties, including Gray House in Springfield and the Amherst survival center.
The pandemic has impacted many, perhaps for the first time, wondering where their next meal will come from. And the volunteers and organizations that provide assistance are a critical element in our fight against the pandemic. They deserve our appreciation for their important service.