Sixty turkeys, 100 litres of gravy, 500 pounds of potatoes, 400 pounds of vegetables and 100 loaves of bread — it’s just part of the list of dishes prepared by Culinary Arts students at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
After several days of preparing, the dishes were loaded into a truck and delivered to Boyle Street Community Services Sunday.
“It’s wonderful to see something from start to finish that you’ve had your hands in creating and making and all the way to the end when its served to people,” said Jade Sparkes with NAIT’s Club Culinaire. “It’s a nice feeling to see that and see how much they’ve enjoyed it.”
The students have been preparing the annual Thanksgiving meal since 2002.
“It’s a great feeling to help out the less fortunate,” said John Karczmarczyk, a first year student. “We put a lot of love into this food — just like at home.”
“I think Thanksgiving is a pretty special holiday for a lot of people in Edmonton and our clients are no different,” said Brent Guidinger with Boyle Street Community Services. “We make sure that they have an opportunity to enjoy a meal with friends and family as well.
It’s estimated over 1,000 people were served at the dinner.
“We have enough for well over a thousand meals and every year that’s what we shell out, so it’s a really popular event,” Guidinger said. “A lot of our clients look forward to it.”
The event is hosted by the NAIT, the Edmonton Food Bank, the Little Potato Company and the Rotary Club of Edmonton West volunteered to serve the food.
“For many people that come to Boyle Street Community Services they consider this home, they consider the people here their family,” Guidinger said. “We try to make it as joyous an occasion as possible.”