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CELINA - Many homes in Mercer and Auglaize counties on Thursday will be filled with families and friends gathered for a holiday feast.
But solitary individuals and those looking to forgo the hassle of cooking have numerous options to get their fill of food and fellowship on Thanksgiving Day.
"Some people just want to have a place to go. They don't want to be at home for Thanksgiving," said Lisa Euckert, chairperson of St. Marys Giving Thanks community meal.
Service organizations are once again hosting free Thanksgiving community meals across the area.
Meanwhile, the Celina Bob Evans staff are busy preparing Thanksgiving feasts for dine-in or carry-out, and the Celina American Legion will host a Thanksgiving buffet that is open to the public (see pricing below).
Giving Thanks volunteers are gearing up to serve a holiday spread of turkey and all the trimmings at no cost from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Celina High School, Coldwater American Legion and St. Marys Memorial High School.
Carry-out meals and deliveries to homebound persons are available.
"Originally the concept was started years ago for people who didn't have a place to go on Thanksgiving," Euckert said. "You could come by yourself, and you could join in at another table, if you want. We usually will ask, 'Do you care to sit with other people?' to fill up the table like they do in Europe."
Financed entirely by donations, the events have now broadened in appeal to a cross-section of the populace. The nonprofit organization has enough food to furnish up to 900 meals at the St. Marys site.
"We have all walks of life that come, some that just want that fellowship and to visit with people, and some that need to come, and it's good to see them," Euckert said.
Diners have priority over people coming for carry-out meals, she noted.
"The commons area, which is the cafeteria, is all set up with tablecloths, and we have people there to wait on you, and they go get the food and bring it to you," Euckert pointed out. "I think some people think they have to go through a cafeteria line and it's not that way."
Euckert has served as chairperson for 10 years but has been helping out with the annual meal for 23 years.
Giving Thanks volunteers prepare meals at Celina High School in 2018.
After chairing the Celina Giving Thanks group for 16 years, Bruce Swonger has passed the torch to Brian and Michelle Miller.
The two will oversee the more than 150 volunteers who come to Celina High School cafeteria starting at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day to fire up the ovens and begin cooking the holiday feast that feeds roughly 1,000 people.
Miller said he marveled at watching a well-oiled machine execute a multitude of duties, one consisting of waiters, doormen, busboys, kitchen cooks and helpers, salad and dessert preparers, delivery drivers to the homebound, and even a tuxedo-clad maître.
Diners are treated like royalty when they come to Celina High School cafeteria and select from a menu boasting turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, noodles, green beans, corn, cranberries, pie or cake, coffee, juice, tea and water.
Over at the Coldwater American Legion, Coldwater Giving Thanks chairperson Marilyn Kahlig and as many as 60 volunteers are preparing to serve up to 600 meals. Kahlig said she tries to set enough food aside to feed the Coldwater Police Department and Mercer County Sheriff's Office staff.
"We have had whole families come out," she said. "It's open to everyone."
In addition to dine-in and carry out options, people can drive behind the Legion to get their Thanksgiving meals. The Coldwater Knights of Columbus members deliver meals to homebound residents.
"We've driven to Fort Recovery, and we offer to Celina to help them out with their deliveries,"Kahlig said.
The 18th Thanksgiving Day Fellowship Lunch, headed up by Roger Klosterman, a deacon at St. Augustine Catholic Church, will be offered free of charge to the public at the Minster Knights of Columbus Hall. Doors open at 11 a.m., and lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday.
Klosterman said he launched the event to fill a requirement of the formation process to become a deacon. It's funded through donations from a rotating cast of businesses and other sponsors.
"It basically is for anybody. When I first started it, everybody said, 'Well, I'm not poor. I'm not financial this way or that way,' and you've got to look at it in the light 'We're all poor one way or another in our life,'" he said.
It was eventually rechristened as a fellowship lunch to underscore its welcoming nature to all who seek sustenance, both in body and spirit.
"There's a lot of elderly people that come because they've got kids that are going here or there and family commitments on both sides," Klosterman said. "A lot of it is family coming together, having a meal with grandma, grandpa, or it's a fellowship hour for them on this day to meet and greet others who are in the same space."
Due to the cost of turkey in recent years, organizers switched to chicken. Those who come are served a wedding-style meal, catered by Wagner's IGA, consisting of chicken, mashed potatoes, dressing, corn, noodles, rolls, pies and desserts.
"People do not leave hungry," Klosterman said.
There is enough food on hand to feed up to 400 people. Leftovers are taken to a food pantry in Sidney.
General manager Cara Stouder and assistant manager Abbigale Casto stock a to-go box with delicious thanksgiving foods at the Celina Bob Evans on Tuesday afternoon.
Bob Evans restaurant in Celina will be open on Thanksgiving Day, with staff ready to dish out a high volume of orders for Farmhouse Feasts to go and meals for dine-in customers.
"All kinds of people need holiday feasts, and we make sure that we're here to serve everyone we can," said restaurant general manager Cara Stouder.
Cooks and other staff at Bob Evans shifted into turkey mode several days ago to prepare for the big day.
"A case of turkeys is probably about 40 pounds, and I'm thinking we probably cook one case a day, if not more, so we're definitely going through turkey," Stouder said. "We're probably cooking six turkeys a day every single day right now just to be ahead of the game."
Bob Evans offers a range of Farmhouse Feasts, which, depending on the meal, can serve between four and 10 people. They're packed cold and just need to be heated before enjoying them at home.
Stouder said "all kinds of people" turn to the Farmhouse Feasts for their Thanksgiving meal.
"I buy my grandparents a feast almost every year," she said. "They're in their 80s, they don't want to go outside, they don't want to mingle. It's the busiest time of the year, they just want to stay home."
For their entree, customers can choose from slow-roasted turkey and/or hickory-smoked ham. Slow-roasted pot roast is also an option. The meals also come with sides, such as mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls. Farmhouse Feasts come at a range of prices, depending on what you order. Call the restaurant for details.
Finally, the Celina American Legion will host a Thanksgiving buffet with turkey, chicken and "all the trimmings" from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, according to its Facebook page. The meal is $15 for adults and $7 for children (12 and under).
Bob Evans will be serving plenty of signature rolls with turkey dinners.
