Hometown Thanksgiving is celebrating its 40th year of offering a free Thanksgiving meal to the Glens Falls community and surrounding areas.
This year students prepared 52 turkeys, which they cooked-off, brokedown, and picked the bones for as much meat as possible. The meat was then portioned into hotel pans; and the bones were simmered for a few days to make stock, which was then turned into gravy (30 gallons). The students are a part of each process where they learn, from beginning to end, how to make these items.
Hometown Thanksgiving Co-president, Jimi Grimmer, said, “we are expected to serve upwards of 1,600 meals this year and it couldn't have been done without the students and facilities' hard work."
Part of the preparation for the event is the student’s yearly fall visit to Hicks Orchard where they harvested approximately 2,000 pounds of apples. Hicks generously donates the apples and part of the harvest was donated to Community Action of Glens Falls. The other apples are used to create homemade treats for the Thanksgiving meal. Students peel, slice and prep the apples to make apple pies and apple crisp. Any scraps from the apples, such as the skins and cores, are donated to local farms. The students make the crusts, fillings and decorate the pies with designs to showcase their work.
Culinary student Blair Holmes from Queensbury High expressed his feelings for the Culinary program as well as the Thanksgiving event. This is his second year helping.
“The thing I like most about the culinary program is getting to meet all the new people. It’s a new learning opportunity to work with new people, especially from other schools.” said Holmes. He continued by saying, “Hometown Thanksgiving is a great experience. It helps us connect the different schools together and is an important volunteer experience.”
Charity Lupo, from Johnsburg Central school, is also a culinary program student who talked about what working on the Hometown Thanksgiving event means to her.
“It’s being able to give those a chance to have a Thanksgiving dinner and be able to enjoy it with family and friends. It’s an opportunity that people might not always have to enjoy a nice warm meal,” said Lupo.
This annual project is in collaboration with SUNY Adirondack’s culinary program where they too roast off another large group of turkeys and make the sides.
The Hometown Thanksgiving meal will be on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 28, 2024 from 12:00-2:00 PM at the Christ United Methodist Church, 54 Bay St, Glens Falls, NY.
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