Photos: Close to 600 celebrate community Thanksgiving
Del Norters celebrated Thanksgiving 2022 with appreciation and gratitude. Just under 600 guests were provided a delicious turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie dinner thanks to the efforts of the Crescent City Foursquare Church and community supporters.
Some 110 volunteers donated their time and talents to prepare and serve the dinners at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds.
Lead Pastor Roger Bodenstab welcomed all in the community with his Thanksgiving outreach. Bodenstab recognized lead volunteer Rena Short for her organization efforts, cited the volunteers, the Del Norte County Fair and Director Kim Floyd, Del Norte Unified School District Superintendent Jeff Harris and Julie Carter Clarke, Crescent Elk kitchen and Sutter Coast Hospital and CEO Mitch Hanna who helped negotiate prices for the turkey and trimmings purchases during this extraordinarily high inflation period.
The estimated $7,500 cost to prepare the dinner was absorbed the Foursquare Church and many anonymous donors. The remainder of the turkey dinners were donated to Our Daily Bread ministries.
The history of hosting this zero-charge dinner for the last two and one-half decades had been organized by community coordinator Teri Sandler of Del Norte Ambulance who turned over operations to Sutter Coast Hospital and Crescent City Foursquare some years back.
It’s been a two-year hiatus since the last Community Thanksgiving dinner. The interruption of service was caused by the COVID-19 virus.
Pastor Bodenstab plans to host Thanksgiving again in 2023.
