HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – It takes days of preparation to hold a Thanksgiving dinner for 1500 people and once again the Holland Rescue Mission made it look so easy.
At Wednesday’s Great Thanksgiving Banquet families broke bread and enjoyed a homemade meal at Devos Fieldhouse on the campus of Hope College. Holland Mayor Nancy Deboer greeted the crowd and worked the serving line and so did Lt. Governor Brian Calley and family as well as Bill Huizenga’s family. Over 1,000 volunteers in all showed up to help.
So what goes into planning a Thanksgiving meal to 1500 guests? Franklin Wilson who is the Food Service Director at the Holland Rescue Mission knows. He was the head chef for the event and coordinated with volunteers to make the event flawless. He says they started a week after Thanksgiving last year to prepare for last night’s banquet. Boars Head in Holland donated the 150 turkeys needed for the banquet.
“There was like 900 pounds of mashed potatoes that we did. We ordered just under 2,000 pounds of green beans. It’s unbelievable. We started last night at about 8:00 p.m. and every thing we do today is a reheat. We had it all panned up, reheat it and bring it over hot.”
At the end of the evening, 500 households receives a care box filled with personal and household items. Each box is filled with about 20 different items. Things that one cannot purchase with a bridge card. A generous donor also purchased $10 gift cards to the Mission’s Gateway Center Thrift Store for every family receiving the care boxes.
It was an evening filled with fellowship, faith, laughter, hope and most of all gratitude. Check out the photo gallery here.
