PEORIA, Ill. – For 53 years, Peoria’s South Side Mission has provided holiday meals for people in need at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The Mission’s Rich Draeger says it’s time now to sign up for Thanksgiving deliveries.
“This year, we’ve just started that process…but, we’re a little bit behind. So, we just wanted to make sure we got the word out, and people understand that now’s the time to go ahead and get signed up for that…if they can’t get out, or they don’t have family, and would like to have a Thanksgiving Day meal,” Draeger says.
Draeger says you can order up to 8 meals per household. The sign-up deadline is November 21.
Those interested in signing up to volunteer to deliver the meals or to help prepare them can sign up online HERE.
The last few years, South Side Mission has delivered around 2,800 meals on Thanksgiving Day in the Peoria area.
So, how long does it take to prepare all that food?
“We actually start about 10 days before Thanksgiving. So, we have to build the (food) boxes, we have to order all the supplies to put the food in…and then about three days out is when we start to do most of the cooking,” Draeger says.
For many years, South Side Mission prepared all the food in one day, and took donations from the public for turkeys and fixings….which they still do for the Mission’s sit down meal on Thanksgiving Day.
When you call to sign up for meals for Thanksgiving, you will be asked if you would like to have meals delivered on Christmas Day as well.
To learn more about South Side Mission, click HERE.
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