Truly manna: a Thanksgiving feast feeds 750

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - A host of MANNA volunteers stepped up Thursday afternoon to serve hundreds of fresh-cooked turkey dinners to local residents who might otherwise have had no Thanksgiving Day meal.

The free roast-turkey dinner, which was served at Edwards Church on Main Street, drew fewer residents than the 900 who attended last year, but officials were pleased to see a larger turnout of volunteers.

"We had a few less than last year; our total was around 750 meals," MANNA board member Lee Anne Musante said. "There were more volunteers than last year though, we had over 100 people come in to help."

Musante attributed the decline in dinner requests to an improving local economy and said, after spending the past week taking calls from residents looking to help out, she thinks that this year, there is plenty of holiday spirit to go around.

"I was just amazed with how many people were calling in to volunteer," she said.

Along with turkey, Musante said the nonprofit offered ham, stuffing, potatoes and vegetables - as well as pies, cakes and desserts donated by the local community.

As dinner was being served at the church, volunteers from the Salvation Army delivered 120 meals to some city residents who were unable to come to the gathering.

"MANNA strives to create a place of warmth and welcome at every meal, but on Thanksgiving Day, we especially want to reach out to the home-bound," MANNA Board Chairman Carl Erickson said.

The area nonprofit took over preparing and serving Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for the hungry when the Northampton Honor Court dissolved in 2006.

This year, Musante said MANNA has served more than 9,000 free meals, including a hot supper every Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m., a full lunch on Saturdays from 11:30 to noon, both at Edwards Church, and a hot dinner on Mondays from noon to 1 p.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church on Elm Street.

Although Musante expects to have enough help for MANNA's Christmas meal, she said additional volunteers are always welcome to help serve and clear.

"We will probably have enough volunteers for Christmas, but we want people in the community to feel like they can always come down and help out if they want to."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.