Volunteers served food for the Boys and Girls Club’s annual Thanksgiving dinner. (Photo by Peter Currier)
WESTFIELD- The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Westfield hosted its 28th annual Thanksgiving Dinner for club members and families Nov. 21 in the club’s gymnasium.
The dinner consisted of donated foods from various people and organizations in the community. Volunteers from the Boys and Girls Club staff and members of the community served the food.
“In the first 40 minutes we had about 400 people,” said Bill Parks, director of the Greater Westfield Boys and Girls Club. “In total we can probably expect 500.”
Parks said that 23 cooked turkeys were donated to the club to be served with dinner Thursday night. In addition, 20 uncooked turkeys were donated to be given away to families in need who may not be able to afford a full Thanksgiving meal on their own. In previous years, some of the turkeys were donated on Thanksgiving while some were saved frozen and given out closer to Christmas.
Within 40 minutes of the beginning of the dinner, over 400 people had gone through the line for their meal. Parks said that he expects about 500 people total. (Photo by Peter Currier)
For the dinner itself, attendees received a full Thanksgiving dinner featuring turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, carrots, and dessert.
As they have for the past several years, much of the food was prepared at Tekoa Country Club by its owner Dan Burack. The potatoes and carrots, of which there were likely more than 100 pounds, were donated by Ray’s Family Farm in Southwick. Ray’s Family Farm has been donating food to the Boys and Girls Club for the event since it started 28 years ago.
“This is a really nice family event,” said Parks, “Some of the people that came to this as kids are now volunteering and serving the food as adults.”
