A small, grassroots group is helping feed people in Buckley and Mesick this Thanksgiving, and it all got started when a local pastor got a woman thinking about what she can do to help people.
People lined up in both towns to pick up frozen turkeys, as well as boxes filled with potatoes, stuffing mixes, pie and everything else needed for a Thanksgiving dinner.
Jill Taylor, who started the program with several friends, says the importance of the dinner goes way beyond the food.
"Thanksgiving is a time where families should all come together,” she says. “And if you don't have that meal, they won't probably get together."
And it’s not just about Thanksgiving.
A couple times a month the Buckley-Mesick Community Meals program also offers warm, sit down meals in each of the two towns.
It all started about a year and a half ago when Taylor’s pastor asked his congregation to act on their passions.Thanksgiving is a time where families should all come together,” she says. “And if you don't have that meal, they won't probably get together.
Thanksgiving is a time where families should all come together. And if you don't have that meal, they won't probably get together.
"I always wanted a large family to feed. I loved Sunday meals, where you have tons of family members coming in and stuff,” Taylor says. “Well, I've never been married. I don't have a large family, so I took it as this is what I'm supposed to be doing."
They serve the meals, no questions asked, to anyone who shows up.
Taylor says there are more than just financial reasons why a person may want a community meal.
"We have people that come in that just love to come in and talk with other people while they're there because they do live by themselves," she says.
The same all-welcoming policy is in affect for the Thanksgiving boxes.
Some people obviously need the help, like a wToman who walked two miles with a young daughter in a wet snowfall to pick up her box in Buckley this week.
Others are getting by OK the rest of the year, but have trouble affording a meal fit for a holiday.
Taylor has thrown herself into the mission, and the group now has 20 people to help run it.
She’s found restaurants, stores and other businesses to help with food and cash.
There are several other organizations in the region doing what her group does, but they tend to be in the larger cities like Traverse City or Cadillac.
"And if they have to drive 30 miles, sometimes that gas is an issue," says Taylor.
This is the second year the group is giving out Thanksgiving boxes.
They expect to pass out 90 turkey dinners, which should feed more than 400 people.