New community kitchen in Albion will serve Thanksgiving meals on Thursday

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 November 2022 at 1:37 pm

ALBION – The Orleans Koinonia Kitchen at Harvest Christian Fellowship will serve Thanksgiving meals on Thursday from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at 560 East Ave.

The community kitchen in Albion used to be based out of Christ Church on Main Street and served its meals on Friday evenings.

The new community kitchen switched to Thursdays at Harvest Christian Fellowship, with the first meals served on June 2.

Different church and community service groups volunteer on Thursdays, including doing prep work a day before.

With the switch to Thursdays that means the kitchen can serve a Thanksgiving meal on the day of the major holiday.

Faith Smith, director of the kitchen, is grateful the kitchen can provide meals and a gathering place on Thanksgiving for many people in the community.

“I just feel there are a lot of people especially seniors especially who are alone,” she said today. “I just want to open our doors and have a home-like setting and be able to fellowship with friends. It’s Thanksgiving but it’s also Friendsgiving.”

Many church members from Harvest offered to prepare and serve the meal. Smith said there will be 19 turkeys cooked for the dinner. The menu also includes green bean casserole with and without bacon, stuffing with and without sausage, homemade cranberry sauce, applesauce, rolls, sweet potato casserole and many dessert – pies, brownies and cakes.

The meals are available for free and can be eaten in the fellowship hall and taken home.

“I’m extremely excited,” Smith said. “I’ve always wanted to do the dinners on the holidays.”

She said many community organizations have assisted the kitchen in its first six months. Just recently the Elks Lodge in Albion donated $2,000 and also gave the kitchen a freezer and meat-slicer.

Another church also is serving Thanksgiving meals for free to the community on Thanksgiving. The Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries is partnering with the Renovation Masonic Lodge 39 to serve the meals from noon to 4 p.m., or until gone at the Masonic Lodge, 39 Platt St.