Stegner said the kitchen has been unable to allow people inside, due to a lack of social distancing. As a result, they have been offering take-out meals to those in need.
“We’re disappointed we can’t have our traditional meal, even if we wanted to open up, it’s just not practical. The average age of our volunteers is 79 and I just can’t put them at risk,” Stegner said.
Instead, the soup kitchen will serve a take-out Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday night from 5 to 6 p.m. Stegner said the kitchen is prepared to serve 1,000 meals.
“I expect people to come pick up five, 10, or 15 meals a person to carry them through Thanksgiving, so I expect about 1,000 meals,” Stegner said.
The JLC Springfield Community Outreach Gathering is also sponsoring a free Thanksgiving carryout dinner on Saturday at “The L,” event center located at 1530 S. Yellow Springs St.
Marjorie Burton, the president of the organization, said the dinner is scheduled to start at noon and they will hand out meals until they run out. She said they plan to serve between 200 and 300 individuals.
The JLC Springfield Community Outreach Gathering has sponsored a free Thanksgiving meal for several years that usually included games and door prizes, but due to the pandemic, they decided to make it a carryout dinner, Burton said.
The meal will consist of typical Thanksgiving dishes, including ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and dessert. For more information on the JLC Springfield event, call 937-460-1888.
