It was a day of gratefulness and being thankful with blessings all around at the annual Carson City Community Thanksgiving dinner held Thursday at the Plaza Conference Center.
The traditional thanksgiving meal was served to 442 people from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and included turkey and all the trimmings. Cooking was coordinated by Billy Lavelle, who owns The Busboy Mobile Cuisine. The annual community dinner is truly a community effort, led by volunteers and preparation by local food trucks Carson City BBQ, Metal Chicken, Lady Griller and Ponchos Tacos.
This year’s spread included 664 pounds of turkeys, 150 pounds of potatoes, 150 pounds of sweet potatoes, 40 pounds of cranberry sauce, 12 hotel pans of dressing and 80 pumpkin pies, and coffee, tea and sparkling apple cider.
For years, the community Thanksgiving had been done at the Carson Nugget and prepared by staff there.
Lavelle explained that when COVID hit there was no longer a staff at the Carson Nugget to handle Thanksgiving meals they once provided. They asked Lavelle to help prepare sandwiches they handed out during Thanksgiving over the COVID period.
From there the community Thanksgiving dinner morphed into coordinating local food trucks to be a part of it annually, said Lavelle.
This year, for example, Carson City BBQ smoked the turkeys and a number of volunteers deboned them. Jason from Metal Chicken did the mashed potatoes, while Lady Griller did the gravy and Ponchos Tacos did the dressing.
“Everyone pitches in to do their part. We all brought it here at 9 a.m. and packed meals for shut-in folks where they are delivered. At 11 a.m. we opened our doors,” he said.
Any leftovers from Thursday’s dinner go back to Calvary Chapel where they are stored and chilled so when FISH needs more meals, Calvary Chapel brings them over.
“We had 20 people come in yesterday to peel potatoes. Everybody pitches in, asking to do whatever they can do. I was sharing last night how blessed I am in seeing the community we live in come together every year. People will call me from other churches or other volunteer organizations, asking what they can do to help. So they get on board and help and pitch in where they can,” he said.
FISH Executive Director Jim Peckham said this kind of community effort is what makes Carson City a special place to live.
“We couldn’t do it without the community. We have 40 to 50 volunteers who help us. The community assisted us with our turkey drive, where 50 of those turkeys from the drive went to today’s dinner. It’s always a very uplifting thing for the community, volunteers and for those who are either lonely or hungry,” said Peckham.
Many guests who enjoyed the community Thanksgiving, praised the volunteers, FISH and food preparers.
For dinner guests Jay Summerville, wife Amanda and children Christine and Trinity, the timing worked out because the family’s oven is broken.
“We can’t cook the turkey so we decided to come here for Thanksgiving,” he said. “This is great.”
When asked what he was thankful for this holiday, Jay said “My family.” His wife Amanda said “my kids.” Trinity said she is thankful for anime while Christine is thankful for Binks her cat.
A generation of Castellanos family including grandmother Xochil, her daughter Maurilia and granddaughter Gissel all said they were especially grateful for their family and spending the day together.
“Our family is united so it’s always nice to get together,” said Maurilia.
This event is part of the Season of Giving in Carson City. Want to learn more about how you can give back this holiday season to your community? Visit our Season of Giving main hub below!
