Coming together, one frozen turkey at a time

For most, Thanksgiving is about getting together, filling their bellies, and appreciating the little things.

This Thanksgiving was different. Families weren't as able to be together, money for groceries was less available, and the trials of the last year loomed like a gray cloud.

However, nothing could dull the giving spirit of our community Thursday. From soup kitchens to Mexican restaurants to church basements, volunteers in the community came out in droves to do their part to make this Thanksgiving special.

El Ranchero, a nine-month-old Mexican restaurant in Post Falls, is one of many small businesses that had to navigate COVID restrictions this year. Only open one month before state lockdown, owners Juan and Katalina Hernandez said they wouldn't have been able to financially support the restaurant without the love they received from the community. So Thursday, they gave the love back.

"Juan was the one who thought of it. For him, it was our turn to do something for the community," Katalina said. "We've stayed open because the community kept coming in and spreading the word about us on Facebook or to their friends and family. They helped keep a brand new small business that opened in February stay open."

Generosity is a hereditary trait for Juan. For years, he watched his grandfather in Mexico maintain an open-door policy, accepting anyone and everyone that needed food to come into his home — even if he didn't have much for himself. The last time Juan visited his grandfather, he finally asked, why?

"He said, why not? Food is food. Rather than putting it to waste, give it out," Juan said. "It's not about just keeping everything for yourself. It's about giving back. It takes a lot. There are a lot of people here, and we're not selling anything. But money is just money."

Every enchilada, side of rice and beans, and jumbo-bag of tortilla chips donated by El Ranchero Thursday was paid for out of pocket. Running from noon to 3 p.m., customers were already pulling up to get their serving. By 12:20 p.m., 12 families had already left with heaping portions of El Ranchero's classic dishes.

"This year has been a roller coaster for many families, we included. I can only imagine how families feel that have gone through job loss or family members that were affected by COVID," Katalina said. "We're just trying to bring our community together and show some hope that things will get back to normal."

Bill Knox from Rathdrum came to take part in the giveaway. He lives alone, and having this meal was his primary source of food on Thanksgiving Day.

"This coronavirus stuff is insane. I can't visit my family because they live in a different state," Knox said. "So it's nice being able to get a decent meal today."

COVID restrictions and fears stopped many families from getting together this year, including Coeur d'Alene residents Tom and Harriet Dillon. They were first in line at the St. George's Catholic Church Thanksgiving dinner grab-n-go meals. While they had hoped to visit their family in Helena, Mont., or south-central Idaho, the risk of traveling was too large. Instead, they decided to stay home and help deliver food to their neighbors.

"We're bringing home five dinners for our neighbors. They don't have any place to go and no family," Harriet said. "I think this is wonderful. It's nice to be able to know that people are offering the chance for you to have a good meal."

St. George's has been giving away meals for 10 years, Ron Winkler with the church said. His wife, Victoria, is the head of the kitchen there, organizing the 120 meals that were expected to be served Thursday afternoon. Usually, they eat inside, but with COVID, they converted the giveaway to the drive-thru style. By the time the kitchen opened, 10 cars were already lined up.

"I think the people who give get more out of it almost than the people who receive," Winkler said. "The people who receive it need it, and they're grateful for it. The people who give they're giving their heart, so they feel really good."

Volunteers with St. George's kitchen had been prepping food for three days and started their final assembly at 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Ingredients were accumulated through donations to the church, food banks, and gifts from parishioners. Those in line received all the traditional Thanksgiving goodies, including turkey, stuffing, potatoes, corn, gravy, and even pumpkin pie.

"Everybody needs all the love they can get, so we just want to hand out a little bit of love to everybody," Winkler said. "Christ was always giving from himself, so that's what we're trying to do 52 weeks of the year."

Spreading a little love was also the goal at the Cherished Ones Ministries Soup Kitchen, which offered in-house eating, to-go, and delivery meals on Thanksgiving day. After being open for only an hour and a half, Stephanie Roberts, an organizer of the event who also runs the food bank at The Altar Church in Coeur d'Alene, said over 100 people had come in to eat, and about 150 meals had been picked up or delivered.

No matter who they were or why they were there, Roberts and the volunteers at the kitchen just wanted to help because that is Thanksgiving's true meaning.

"It's about being thankful, but it's also about giving," she said. "It's about having that heart. About coming together, setting all things aside, enjoying the day, and having a friendly meal."

Volunteers came from all avenues, some from The Altar, others the Heart of The City Church, the Hayden Worship Center, and the soup kitchen. Eating at the Second Street and Indiana Avenue location was a mixture of the homeless, church members, families in need, and soup kitchen regulars.

While the kitchen frequently serves meals to the less fortunate, this meal was exceptional. As significant donations from Albertsons, Grocery Outlet, Super 1, Walmart, Smart Food Source, and monetary donations from several anonymous citizens made it possible, Roberts said.

"With the crisis we've had, it means more to people because it is one of the few opportunities to get together," Sybil Obendrauf with The Alter said. "A lot of the older folks and the homeless people feel like they've been forgotten or alone, so we must let them know that they aren't."

At the Real Life Ministries Church in Coeur d'Alene, they made sure people were not alone during the holiday. With multiple rooms packed with food, the church and its followers served up hot tins of turkey meat, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, and as much gravy as you could imagine.

"If I didn't have this place to go, I wouldn't have anywhere to be," Jenny Maclay said Thursday at the church. "Coming from my heart, loneliness, and despair is a serious, serious issue. Thank God this was here for me, thank God the churches are open because they're here for me."

For the last 10 years, the church has served 130 to 140 meals, but this year because of COVID, they cut it down to about 30, pastor Dave Sayers said. 90% of the food comes from donations to the church, he said, with members of the congregations often bringing extra supplies as they can.

"People love to give," Sayers said. "Especially around Thanksgiving, they love to donate. Considering it's for the people who are homeless or are in recovery, anybody who doesn't have a place to go, we want to be a place for them."

RLM has a rehabilitation program, Celebrate Recovery, which helps those who just came out of jail, struggle with sobriety, or personal circumstances. Whatever the reason, Sayers said, the ministry welcomes everybody who has been affected.

"This year, 2020, there is just such a high degree of brokenness and frustration and hopelessness," he said. "We are just hoping to help relieve that for one day and keep their minds off of it through this fellowship and break bread together and have a good meal."