Imagine cooking 700 pounds of turkey to feed about 600 people on Thanksgiving Day. The aroma is already wafting through the Rescue Mission, as the kitchen prepares for the annual community feast.
The menu breakdown is as follows:
- 700 pounds of turkey
- 150 pounds of potatoes
- 80-100 pounds of yams
- 80-100 pounds of stuffing
And let’s not forget the green beans, corn, fresh cranberry relish, hot rolls, and pie—lots and lots of homemade pie. All this week anyone from the community is invited to drop off a homemade pie at the Mission’s drive-up “pie-guy” station on 4th Street. All are invited, and no reservation is needed for the Feast, which gets under way at noon on Thursday.
That’s just after the Mission’s biggest fundraiser of the year, the 13th annual Union Bank & Trust Drumstick DASH 5K which starts at 9:00a.m. and finishes with presentation of awards on Market Street at 10:00a.m. Registration continues online at https://drumstickdash.net/ and also in person at the Rescue Mission, where participants are asked to stop in and pick up their race T-shirts and packets from 7:00am-6:00pm Monday-Wednesday of this week, and again Thursday morning right up until the race starts.
With the motto “move your feet so others can eat,” the race supports the Food Services budget at the Mission, which in 2017 provided more than 245,000 meals for people in its homeless shelters as well as others facing hunger and in need. The Drumstick DASH draws about 13,000 runners, walkers, and dogs on leashes to downtown Roanoke. All told between the Drumstick DASH and Feast, 425 people will volunteer their time on Thanksgiving Day on behalf of the Rescue Mission and the community.
