Trinity Community Table serves Thanksgiving dinner for needy

Trinity Community Table in Cambridge helped feed those most vulnerable in the community with their annual Thanksgiving dinner on Monday.

People lined up outside the parish hall doors at Trinity Anglican Church in Cambridge on a sunny Thanksgiving morning where volunteers busily prepared a turkey dinner, ‘to go’, with all the fixings.

“We served over 175 meals last year, and if there’s more this year, we will make sure everyone gets served,” said Helen Martin a volunteer cook at Trinity Community Table.

“It’s fulfilling to know that you are filling up some hungry stomachs, especially this time of year, at Thanksgiving. It’s a special treat and everyone deserves it,” Martin said.

Since 1992, Trinity Community Table, a community outreach program, has provided nourishing noontime meals to those in need in the community.

And since then, volunteers also began serving its annual Thanksgiving meal.

Having celebrated its 30th anniversary in September, Trinity Community Table continues to offer meals, three days a week, to anyone in need. Volunteers come together to meet the needs in the community and to help make a difference by serving meals for up to 175 guests every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

The organization has over 85 volunteers who contribute more than 10,000 hours each year.

“We’ve been serving Thanksgiving dinner for over 30 years. That’s a long time,” said Susan O’Brian, a volunteer with Trinity Community Table.

“For someone who’s homeless, they have so many struggles. Everyone deserves to have a roof over their head and a good meal.”

Dan Fietje  a volunteer with Trinity Community Table during the week, said that this was his first time helping out at Trinity's Thanksgiving dinner.

“Many of us had our Thanksgiving dinners last night. It’s so great to be here and to be able to help out on Thanksgiving Day,” Fietje said.

As guests lined up, volunteers were ready to greet them with a full turkey dinner. 

There was a spirit of giving on Thanksgiving Day for volunteers, who over the past 30 years, have developed their own sense of community.

“On days like this, we just love getting together,” O’Brian said.

“This isn’t work for us. We are surrounded by so many good people.”

For more information about Trinity Community Table, visit here.