Drive-Thru Thanksgiving Meal

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Photo by Jed Owen on Unsplash

No one should go hungry as we celebrate the harvest, and there are multiple options for those not in a position to whip up a feast themselves. Calvary Gospel Church (1-3 p.m.; facebook.com/events/3296005397347811), Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (drive through, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.; gslcwi.com); and Delta Beer Lab (3-5 p.m.; facebook.com/events/443567280468915) are all serving free meals on Thanksgiving Day. Prepared meals for pickup are available from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Nov. 23 and 10 a.m-4 p.m. on Nov. 24 at River Food Pantry (riverfoodpantry.org). Read below for more info on GSLC's event.

press release: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church – A local church that handed out more than 700 turkey dinners on Thanksgiving last year during the pandemic is sticking with their drive-thru model for a second year.

Good Shepherd will host Thanksgiving To-Go from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (or until the food runs out) on Thursday, November 25, 2021. People will pick up their meals via drive-thru in the parking lot of the church’s Madison location, 5701 Raymond Road in Madison (on the southwest corner of Raymond Road and Whitney Way.)

“We weren’t sure what type of response we were going to get last year when we changed from having people attend in person to people picking up their food instead,” said Rick Thomas, Good Shepherd outreach director. “But we were blown away by the response. And since mask mandates haven’t been dropped yet, we thought people would be more comfortable sticking with the drive-thru model for another year.”

Good Shepherd has hosted an annual Thanksgiving meal for their members and the Meadowood neighborhood for more than 25 years. Typically, around 300 people attend. That’s why they were stunned when more than 700 cars came to pick up food in 2020. The church isn’t expecting as big of a response this year, since many COVID restrictions have been lifted. But they didn’t want to discount the possibility that the drive-thru model may produce more interest than previous efforts at the church.

There will be a different traffic pattern this year to pick up the meals. Last year, cars entered the parking lot off Whitney Way. This year, cars will enter via the entrance to the church on Raymond Road in order to minimize traffic problems. Volunteers will take proper precautions to make Thanksgiving To-Go possible. This traditional dinner includes turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberries and dessert, plus all the trimmings! There is no cost for the meal.