Project worth the effort, dinner volunteer says

By Brett Dalton

Herald-Tribune

Fort Scott, Kan. -- Marjorie Schwalm had no trouble admitting it. She was "bone tired" afterward. So were the several volunteers who helped out with Thursday's Community Thanksgiving Dinner in Fort Scott. Their efforts were well worth it, however, as the 8th annual dinner served more meals to area residents than ever before.

"It was the biggest crowd we've ever had," Schwalm said. "I was totally amazed."

Between dine-ins, carry-outs and deliveries, Schwalm said, around 600 meals were served. She said that close to 350 of those meals were deliveries, well above the average number of meals, 200, that have been delivered in past years.

"The number of elderly and shut-ins in this area keeping growing each year," Schwalm said. "A lot of them can't get out to drive and many rely on Meals on Wheels throughout the week. That's probably a good reason the deliveries had gone up quite a bit this year."

Schwalm said that between 150 and 175 people chose to dine in at the Elks Lodge in Fort Scott, which hosted the dinner.

"We had our repeats, the ones that come every year," she said. "I also saw a lot of new faces, though."

She added that the dinner continues to be a success because of people's continued need for a meal, but also because of the social interaction the event provides.

"There seemed to be a lot more people this year that needed a meal," Schwalm said. "However, there were also a lot of people that just wanted to be out and with people on Thanksgiving. People came and stayed. Nobody was in a hurry to leave. A lot of them even offered to help clean up."

Free meals included a variety of tasty Thanksgiving food such as turkey, homemade noodles, green beans, dinner rolls and more.

Providing 600 people with a good Thanksgiving meal in a two-hour span is a difficult task, Schwalm said, but added that the number of volunteers helped relieve any strain.

"I had so many volunteers that came out and gave their day to help me get food and trays ready for deliveries," she said. "All of their hard work just made the day so much easier."