Organizers of the Salem Community Thanksgiving Dinner are pleased with the Saturday event.
Chris Watkins of Saved with Amazing Grace is thankful to all those who helped make the 8th annual event a success.
“It was a truly blessed day,” Watkins said. “1200 fed today. We got rid of everything that we had, so it was awesome. Big shoutout to the Apostolic Church, all the volunteers came out. YMCA Region K helped out with all the turkeys and everything. We’re grateful and thankful for everyone in the community who helped out.”
Watkins says the $3,500 cost of putting on the dinner has been covered by donations.
Watkins says 137 turkeys were smoked and cooked, 150 cans of green beans were served, 300 boxes of dressing made, and 40 pounds of butter used in the meal preparation.
Of the 1,200 dinners prepared, 500 were taken to Centralia to be distributed through the Centralia Recreation Complex and the Centralia Community Youth Center.
Watkins says 65 blankets were donated which were all distributed to those in need who took part in the dinner.
Watkins also announced that for the first time there will be an Easter dinner in the spring.
65 blankets were donated and distributed to households in need.
