used for overflow.
Often people would
line up outside to wait
for their meal, some
years facing brutally
cold South Dakota
winters. When the
old school was torn
down, Calvary Baptist
generously offered
their space for the
event. The building
provides ample space
and those in the meal
line no longer need to
stand outside. This
has been their fourth
year at Calvary.
With the number
of volunteers required
for the event to be
successful in its
first year, Prairie
Freedom Center
was a tremendous
asset providing
help. Unexpectedly,
the event served
over 1,000 people
the first year. Over
twenty years later, the
event is still going
and they’ve tripled
in attendees, now
serving approximately
2,800-3,000 with
close to 300 meals
delivered to those
unable to attend.
Donna Carlson
has helped with
the meal since the beginning. She and her husband Cal moved
here 50 years ago and have felt delightfully embraced by the
community. “The holiday feast is my Thanksgiving,” she beams.
“It’s my way to give back to the community. A thank you, Yankton.”
Though she primarily works in the kitchen, she also acts as a
float, filling in any spots where needed.
Donna Madson has spent 17 years helping with the event,
spending a lot of time on the phone starting each November.
Madson works on organizing volunteers and calling businesses to
line up the turkeys and pies.
Chopper’s wife Marlene Johnson continues to carry on her
husband’s legacy, assisting with the overall planning of the event
and creating the posters and various letters distributed in the
community.
• 95 turkeys
• 550 pounds of potatoes
• 120 gallons of gravy
• 60 gallons of corn
• 24 gallons of cranberries
• 175-200 pies
Always enough to go around
If you’re interested in assisting with or contributing to the
Community Feast, call Donna Madson on her cell phone at (605)
760-3170.
Incredibly, though serving 3,000 people, the Feast has never
run out of food, though Johnson explains that they came very
close one year. Just how much food does it take to feed that many
people, I asked:
It takes a team of over 200 volunteers to set up, serve, cut
pies, carve turkeys, clean tables and clean up. Twelve to thirteen
volunteers are used exclusively for delivering meals to those
physically unable to attend. The first volunteers start coming
in at noon to carve turkeys and shortly thereafter the take-out
containers start getting filled. The meal begins serving at 4:30pm
and the take-out containers are sent out for delivery. Serving then
continues until 7:00pm.
A community, a family
When asking the committee members what their first
impression of the event was, they all had the same response.
“Wow!”
“The generosity of the community is just fantastic,” Carlson
smiles, and explains how radio stations, the newspaper and the
press in promoting along with the donations from society to make
the event happen is truly remarkable.
“The community has now really taken on this event,” states
Johnson, explaining how so many play a role in making the Feast
happen. Even the children get involved in volunteering, including
Scouts and church groups. Madson laughs as she tells a story
about her 6-year old granddaughter helping serve one year. As
she’s handing out dinner rolls with one hand, she’s holding a
dinner roll in one hand and eating it. We all laugh.
Carlson adds, “There’s a space for everybody and everything.
We never turn down anything. It takes a lot of people to make this
happen.”
A warm meal and warm hearts
“When it’s all over they come up and smile and say thank you
and some of them give you hugs and you feel so good because
they have had a delicious meal,” Madson grinned. Johnson
explains how she often hears many talk about making a new
friend during the Feast. Their goal is to keep the event going,
Johnson adding, “Every year we get more new people that come
back.” She laughs, “Who would have ever thought it would go this
long?”
Fill your plate, find a friend
Johnson encourages everyone to come to the Community
Feast. “It’s open to the public. We want to encourage you to come.
We know it’s a busy night, but come to enjoy a delicious, hot meal
and some fellowship and bring your family.” If you’ve been to the
holiday feast, share your experience with someone. If not, invite
someone and come down to make some friends and give thanks
that we live in such a wonderful community.
Want to help?
vBy Julie Eickhoff
HERVOICEvNOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016v7