ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, but before going home and traveling to see family and friends, people are invited to celebrate with their fellow community members.
The public is invited to a Community Thanksgiving meal Monday, Nov. 24 at the Randall Girls Scout Building in Light Park. The meal will be served from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The meal is free, but reservations must be made by Nov. 21 by calling or texting (620) 566-8026. A limited number of to-go meals also will be available. The menu will include turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls and multiple desserts. Water, coffee and tea will also be served. The meal is being sponsored by the Liberal Area Coalition for Families (LACF), Girl Scout Troop 60129, and the High Plains Heritage Foundation. Anyone interested in donating food or volunteering to work can also call (620) 566-8026. Anyone interested in donating funds can contact Kay Burtzloff at (620) 629-0203 or Sarah Mersdorf-Foreman at (620) 655-2061.
As Burtzloff tells it, the meal has long been a staple of Liberal.
“The meal has been part of the community for multiple years and I've personally been involved with for nearly 20 years. Way back when I started, Susan Roberts was the director of the Liberal Senior Center and since the coordinators were getting kind of old, she asked me if I knew of any group that would be willing to help, and my sorority group stepped up and helped with the meal for many years. Then, when my sorority group disbanded, the LACF stepped up and started helping, and we've been doing that for multiple years now. So I went to the Liberal Senior Center recently to talk things over, and it was a situation where one day it was happening and the next day it wasn't because they apparently didn't feel like they were up to it this year. That, plus the fact that Stepping Stone Shelter won't be having its big meal because of the renovations going on, there was no one who was doing a big community meal. But I know from the multiple decades now of having helped with the meal, there are many individuals and families in town for whom this is their only big Thanksgiving meal, and I knew I didn't want to let the community meal fall through the cracks. So I basically said 'Not on my watch is Liberal not going to have a Thanksgiving meal.'”
So, Burtzloff said, the work began.
“I began reaching out to people, including Sarah with the LACF and Karem Gallo with the High Plains Heritage Foundation, and everyone I talked to said 'We HAVE to have a community meal,' so there's definitely support and a need for the meal,” Burtzloff said. “It was very lucky we were able to get the Randall Girls Scout Building locked in so quickly, and I'm very glad we're able to use that space. A lot of other people and groups stepped up to either volunteer or donate/cook food or help in some way, and I can't thank them enough, because this is truly a Thanksgiving meal for the community by the community. Everything's had to come together really quickly, but I'm very lucky we already have quite a bit of what we needed in place.”
Burtzloff said it was a rather easy decision for the LACF to host this year’s meal.
“I did not want there to be that gap. I know some churches and other groups host their own Thanksgiving meals, but I didn't want the community meal to fall by the wayside,” Burtzloff said. “Filling gaps and helping with community needs is what the LACF was founded for, and I'm all about being part of those efforts. When the Liberal Senior Center staff said they wouldn't be able to do the meal, I was on the phone talking to people by the next day, and I was very happy with how quickly everything was able to come together. I've said for multiple years how much I bet on Liberal – I knew if I said 'Hey, what if we do this?,' the support would be there because I have a great team of people I work with and a lot of great new people coming in. I knew my core group would back me up and would be on board, and it's great knowing there are people who are more than willing to step in and lend a hand and do the work.”
With this being the first year of the community meal being hosted by LACF, Burtzloff said she is excited.
“I think it's going to be an overall really fun event. There's going to be a lot of great food – it's going to be a traditional Thanksgiving spread – and a local sorority group has offered to be in charge of all of the desserts, so everyone should leave with a full stomach that night,” Burtzloff said. “I'm also going to be reaching out to the Black History Committee to see if they'd have some singers come out and provide some entertainment, but if there's anyone else in town who would like to do that, we'd certainly welcome them. With everything going on, this is a great time for the community to come together and enjoy a good meal and enjoy some time together. We haven't had the community meal in quite this way before, so we're still figuring a few aspects out, but I'm excited to see everyone who comes out to the meal. We welcome everyone and anyone to come out and just enjoy a nice meal with everyone.”
With a large number of diners expected, Burtzloff added help will also be needed.
“When you're giving to others, you're really fulfilling the reason for Thanksgiving by helping other people. I wouldn't be helping with something like this if I didn't genuinely enjoy helping the community,” Burtzloff said. “A lot of people are looking for volunteer opportunities, and I even had a lady reach out on Facebook and get signed up. We're going to need a significant amount of people to help with setup and serving and then cleanup, so if anyone wants to help, they can call or text (620) 566-8026.”
Overall, Burtzloff said, the meal should be a nice time for everyone who attends.
“There will definitely be a lot of work involved in the next couple weeks as far as coordinating all the cooking and volunteers and everything else, but I think the meal will see a pretty big turnout from the community. I think it'll be an overall nice event, and we've already talked about evaluating whether or not to officially keep doing the meal ourselves as time goes on,” Burtzloff said. “In the near future, we're going to share a link on our social media pages where people can donate to us online if they so choose, and any leftover money we end up not using for the meal will go to food pantries in town, so we'll still be helping feed people even after the meal. I know there are a few other groups in town doing food drives, and I'm glad people are recognizing that need, especially given everything going on. I can't wait to see how the meal ends up that evening, and I hope we have a big turnout in terms of diners and volunteers.”
