Turkey takeouts - Dinner deliveries becoming popular

Watching the take-out requests rise and in-house dining interest drop, Maj. Robert Gauthier said that he had hoped to draw more people out of their homes to the community table for Thanksgiving dinner Thursday at the Salvation Army.

Volunteers delivered 341 meals to 103 different homes Thursday, with another 84 take-out meals served.

Meals were also delivered to various fire stations and police stations.

In earlier years, meals were dropped off only to shut-ins. Now they're dropped off to everyone who signs up for delivery.

The organization is feeding as many people as it ever did -- they average 600 to 650 each year -- but for whatever reason, people want to stay home to eat.

"It's sad," said Maj. Joyce Gauthier.

About 200 people ate at the festively decorated tables at 701 Good Hope St., at times with volunteers outnumbering the diners.

More than 120 people volunteered Thursday.

Ron Ribiat and his family moved to Cape Girardeau last year when he accepted a job with Procter & Gamble.

Leaving behind a large extended family in Ventura, Calif., was the hardest part, he said.

Last Thanksgiving was the first year the Ribiats and their two boys spent in Cape Girardeau, and it was too quiet for their taste.

This year, volunteering at the Salvation Army seemed like the perfect antidote. The family showed up to help serve meals and clean up afterward.

"My wife and I discussed it and thought it would be an important lesson for the children and maybe we could do some good," Ribiat said. "Next year, I want to be even more involved."

He said he hopes to help prepare and deliver the meals.

Early deliveries

Ribiat will have to get up early.

Volunteers were cooking all week and in the kitchens by 7 a.m. Thursday, getting ready to serve 66 turkeys and half as many hams with all the traditional fixings of the holiday meal. That included almost every imaginable kind of cake and pie.

Food donations were plentiful this year, Gauthier said. He had been concerned donors would be tapped out after giving so generously to aid victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

He said volunteers get as much fulfillment from their role as the diners who walk away with satisfied appetites.

At 2 p.m., serious cleanup efforts began.

Joe Keller hummed as he scraped at the crusts of mashed potato that stuck to the chafing dishes. He said the scrubbing the dishes is his favorite job.

An employee at Spartech, he said he's been a dishwasher at the Thanksgiving meal hosted Salvation Army for several years.

"This group is kind of like the family you see once a year at holidays."

He said he and his daughters deliver gift baskets at Christmas, too.

abuchanan@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160