By LINN ANN HUNTINGTON
For the Ellis County Ministerial Alliance
Reservations are being taken for the free Thanksgiving Day Community Feast for residents of Ellis County.
Once again, the meal is being organized and run by the Ellis County Ministerial Alliance. Those attending will notice two major changes from previous years, said the Rev. Josh Gelatt, who chaired the ECMA organizing committee.
He said one major change is the feast this year will be a sit-down meal only, with no drive-through option. The only exception is that First Call for Help, which is partnering with the ECMA, will deliver meals to the elderly, homebound, or disabled individuals.
Everyone else will select from one of seven host sites located throughout Hays. As of press time, those sites were First United Methodist Church, 305 W. Seventh; New Life Center, 1701 E. 22nd; North Oak Community Church, 3000 Oak St.; St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 2900 Canal Blvd.; St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Church, 2901 E. 13th; First Baptist Church, 12th and Fort Streets; and The Gamers Guild, 200 E. Eighth. All sites will serve at 1 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 24.
Gelatt, lead pastor at North Oak, said, based on previous years, the committee is planning on feeding around 900 people.
Reservations for the sit-down meals are available at www.nex-tech.com/thanksgiving. The deadline is 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, or until all the spaces are filled, said Laura Allen with First Call for Help. She encouraged people to sign up early in order to get the site of their choice. All sites are wheelchair accessible except for St. Michael’s. She said additional sites may be added before the deadline.
Gelatt, lead pastor at North Oak, said, based on previous years, the committee is planning on feeding around 900 people.
Reservations for the sit-down meals are available at www.nex-tech.com/thanksgiving. The deadline is 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, or until all the spaces are filled, said Laura Allen with First Call for Help. She encouraged people to sign up early in order to get the site of their choice. All sites are wheelchair accessible except for St. Michael’s. She said additional sites could be added before the deadline.
Gelatt said when people register, they will be asked to provide their name, contact information, number of meals needed, and then they will pick their host site. As sites fill up, they will no longer be offered as an option.
All Meals on Wheels clients will automatically receive a home-delivered meal on Thanksgiving, Allen said. Other homebound individuals may call her at First Call for Help, (785) 623-2800, by Nov. 18, to reserve a meal.
The earlier reservation deadline for home deliveries is to give her time to organize the delivery routes and secure enough drivers, Allen said. In addition to providing meals for the homebound, First Call will also deliver a meal to the person’s caregiver, she said.
Gelatt said First Call expects to deliver 100 to 200 meals.
He said The Press, once again, will cater all the meals. The menu will consist of roast turkey and dressing, garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and a roll with butter. Each host site will provide beverages.
The other major change this year is there will be no free sacks of groceries, Gelatt said. The group that had partnered with ECMA in the past to collect the non-perishable food items, sort them, and bag them, was unable to do so last year and again this year.
“We were unable to get the logistics in place this year (to collect, sort and bag the items),” Gelatt said. “We hope to revisit that next year.”
In answer to the question of why no drive-through meals this year, Gelatt said the original idea of a “community feast” was to encourage Ellis County residents to come and “share a meal together.”
He said the committee discovered this year that “coming out of a pandemic, many people feel isolated, disconnected, and alone. That has steered us toward offering different locations where people can break bread together and maybe make a new friend.”
He cited a study by the World Health Organization that found depression and anxiety have increased 25 percent worldwide since the pandemic.
The study, which was released in March, showed that young people in particular are at risk. “(T)he pandemic has affected the mental health of young people, and ... they are disproportionally at risk of suicidal and self-harming behaviors,” the study found.
Allen also noted that in the past when the Thanksgiving Feast was offered at only one location, the venue would usually fill up rapidly. Attendees would often have to wait in line until people finished eating and left before they could be seated. This resulted in people feeling rushed and unable to linger and visit.
Having multiple sites, which was tried out in 2021, will eliminate this problem, she said. “The whole idea is offering fellowship and company — and not just a meal.”
She added any church, organization, or business wanting to host a site is still welcome to contact her at (785) 623-2800. The only requirement is they must be able to provide tables and seating for a minimum of 20 people. Being handicapped accessible is a plus, but not mandatory, she said.
Allen is also the person coordinating volunteers. She needs individuals to help pack meals for delivery, deliver meals to the homebound, and pick up meals from the caterer to deliver to the host sites. Many of the host sites also need greeters and servers, she said.
Those wishing to volunteer can call her at First Call or register online at www.nwksvolunteers.org.
Allen said table tents at each host site will recognize all community sponsors.
“The ECMA loves to do this feast every year'" Gelatt said. "It is very meaningful to us.”