This Thanksgiving, thousands of community members will come together in kitchens and dining halls throughout the Midpeninsula, from the Mountain View restaurant owner who opens his doors every year to provide free turkey dinners to the dozens of volunteer kitchen workers who will spend the morning prepping and serving turkey with all the fixings to hundreds of children, families, seniors and homeless individuals.
If you are need, know someone in need or want to volunteer, here are some local organizations that will be serving free Thanksgiving meals:
PALO ALTO
Estelle Chalfin Palo Alto Community Thanksgiving Meal, All Saints Episcopal Church, 555 Waverley St.
LifeMoves and Downtown Streets Team are sponsoring this annual two-day community feast. Traditional Thanksgiving Day meals will be served from noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 24. Leftovers and bag lunches will be available from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25.
Needed: Volunteers for Friday and Thursday meal service; roasted turkeys and other food donations (accepted from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Nov. 23).
For volunteer and food donation sign-up lists, go to streetsteam.org/thanksgivingmeal/ or email PaloAltoThanksgiving@gmail.com.
MENLO PARK
St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room, 3500 Middlefield Road
St. Anthony’s is preparing to serve 1,000 traditional Thanksgiving meals to families and individuals from noon to 2:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24.
Needed: All Thanksgiving Day volunteer slots are filled. Volunteers for other year-round meal programs and monetary donations are welcome.
For more information, call 650-365-9664 or go to www.paduadiningroom.com
EAST PALO ALTO
St. Francis of Assisi Church, 1425 Bay Road
The Ecumenical Hunger Program (EHP) and St. Vincent De Paul will be serving their weekly home-cooked dinner from 5-6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23.
Needed: Food, monetary donations and volunteers for year-round programs.
For more information, call 650-323-7781.
MOUNTAIN VIEW
Ristorante Don Giovanni, 235 Castro St.
Ristorante Don Giovanni plans to serve more than 1,500 guests during its free Thanksgiving Day meal that the owner hosts every year as a “thank you” to the community. The meal, which will be served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., includes turkey, gravy and all the fixings. Everyone is welcome.
For more information, call 650-961-9749 or email john@dongiovannis.com.
Downtown Streets Team still needs a few more volunteers and especially some more donated food. To sign up please go to http://streetsteam.org/thanksgivingmeal/
john the owner of RISTORANTE DON GIOVANNI on castro street in mOuntain view has been feeding the needy every thanksgiving for 19 years and serving over 1000 to a sit down waiter attended dinner
mike