A Lake Tansi catering business decided several years to do what it does year-round on Thanksgiving Day, serving up free food for those who need it.
Lake Tansi Catering Co-Owner David King said the staff starts prepares for the annual dinner a week before. King said preparing a mass Thanksgiving for the community can be a challenge in many ways. The catering business will prepare 16 turkeys for the community.
“We get people that definitely need a meal, but it’s not just for that, you know, its awesome time for fellowship. They sit and have a meal and then they talk for hours sometimes,” King said. “Sitting at the tables, and they meet people that they didn’t know.”
King said preparing a mass Thanksgiving for the community can be a challenge in many ways. The catering business will prepare 16 turkeys for the community. King said timing the cooking of turkeys and other food is important to ensure a smooth dinner service.
“You know, the masses come in at one time,” King said. “So ensuring that we are ready to go from the word go.”
King said his military retirement six years ago inspired the catering business. King said the business grew successful, allowing the Friends-giving event as a way to feed the community during the holiday season.
King said earlier this month, his mother died. He will bring back the dinner for her, as Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday.
“She made me promise that I’d do it again,” King said. “And it just made her light up, and she just took so much joy and pride with it.”
King said the business delivers meals to those who cannot get to the event. King said the dinner event receives many volunteers with every dinner, allowing the catering business to deliver meals to local families in need. King said the Lake Tansi Police Department acts as a consulting body, telling the staff and volunteers which homes need food resources.
King said this is the fourth year the catering business will host the event. King said the business took a two year break from holding the event before this year.