PORT ANGELES — Two weeks after putting out the word that it didn’t have any turkeys for the annual Thanksgiving feast, the Port Angeles Salvation Army’s soup kitchen now has enough for the 200 expected at the holiday meal.
So many turkeys and hams poured in from generous community donors that they don’t fit in a single freezer, Major Scott Ramsey said.
“People have responded to our pleas in the Peninsula Daily News and on KONP,” Ramsey said. “There are those people who spring into action for the holidays.”
As of Wednesday, the Salvation Army had received more than 70 turkeys and hams, and a few chickens.
“It does speak well to our wonderful community,” Ramsey said.
A typical meal at the Salvation Army’s kitchen serves 80 to 120 people, but 200 or more are expected from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Thanksgiving dinner at the dining hall at 206 S. Peabody St.
The Salvation Army dinner is held a day before Thanksgiving to serve a feast to those who otherwise might not get one, to allow the diners to have another hot meal on Thanksgiving Day at another lunch kitchen and to give those who also have family or friends in the area to spend Thanksgiving Day with those loved ones.
Not only did the community respond with enough turkeys and hams for the hot meal, but there is also a start for Tuesday’s food distributions.
Each week, the food pantry provides food staples to those in need. Thanksgiving week, those clients are given special “Thanksgiving-themed” food baskets, Ramsey said.
The food pantry is open from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays but will be closed for Thanksgiving.
The Salvation Army serves free meals Mondays through Fridays: breakfast from 8:45 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. and lunch from noon to 1 p.m.
The organization also operates a food bank and has church services at 11 a.m. Sunday.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
