Catholic Charities Dorothy Day Place serves its annual Thankgiving meal to hundreds

On this day of giving, a holiday meal for those who might overwise do without.

“We’ll probably feed about 250-300,” says Mike Dejong, Supervisory Chef with Catholic Charities kitchens. “We actually ended up with 34 (turkeys) this year, 20 to 23 pounders.”

At Catholic Charities Dorothy Day Place, the kitchen was humming.

Dozens of people were lining up for this culinary cacophony — including truck driver Erick Hopkins and his canine buddy Sparky.

Without shelter for a short period, he now lives at Dorothy Day — grateful to be here.

“I crashed in Camden, Arkansas. The truck injuries, I was not able to work for a long time,” he explains.

That was about a year ago — but Hopkins is still dealing with a spinal injury and will have to walk with a cane for the rest of his life.

Still, this Thanksgiving is much better.

“It was cold outside, I didn’t know where I was going to eat,” Hopkins says. “I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

Now, he’s among 320 people sharing a massive meal.

Dejong and his faithful crew of eighteen volunteers are prepping 34 turkeys, 90 pounds of dressing, 22 pounds of cranberries, 12 gallons of gravy, and 45 pumpkin pies.

“This Thanksgiving meal is huge,” he declares. “Everybody is anticipating it for the week before and talking about it the week after.”

But this gathering is more than just about food.

It’s a respite from the cold — and a chance to share some companionship.

“It really feels good to have an opportunity to give something special,” explains Raven Davis, Unit Manager with Dorothy Day Place. “There are a lot of times where there are tough moments. It is winter, but today has been really positive.”

For Rhonda Reams, who’s experienced homelessness on and off for four years, it’s all about that friendship — a voice saying you are not alone.

“Now they’re feeding us, and it’s just really nice,” she declares. “It’s wonderful. It’s wonderful to have the new friends I’ve made and I’m looking forward to housing.”

Reams says she expects to move into permanent housing — her own apartment, by Christmas Day.

And of course, the eternal question — what to do with all those leftovers?

Dejong says he and his kitchen volunteers will do like a lot of us — use some for Sunday dinner, then freeze the rest for meals in the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, Dorothy Day staffers here say this Thanksgiving gathering is always special.

“It feels more homey and more closeness, a lot of our clients here,” Davis says. “Just another opportunity to give thanks and have a conversation.”

“This is where I want to be for my Thanksgiving,” Hopkins adds. “This is where I want to be when I celebrate Thanksgiving.”