Not everyone wants to make a big to-do when it comes to Thanksgiving. They may not have family around or perhaps they just don’t feel like washing dishes after the feast.
Whatever the case, Peggy Reed has her kitchen open.
“Nobody has to eat alone on Thanksgiving Day,” she said.
Reed owns Georgie’s Café on Main Street in Cottonwood.
For nearly two decades, the café has opened its door to the public for a Thanksgiving meal. There will be meals available for carry-out.
And, it’s free.
Free Thanksgiving Meals
- Verde Valley Senior Center, 500 E. Cherry St., Wednesday, Nov. 25, noon. Donations accepted.
- Georgie’s Café, 517 N. 12th St., Thursday, Nov. 26, 11 a.m. — 4 p.m.
There’s also no catch, except that it’s first come, first served.
“We don’t take call-in orders,” Reed said. “We don’t take reservations. We keep all our tables open.”
The meal is traditional, Reed said, with all the turkey, stuffing, Dutch mashed potatoes and all the other trimmings.
There’s also ham and that holiday staple, pumpkin pie.
The café is open from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
“We usually have people lining up by 9:30 a.m.,” Reed said. “I’m amped up.”
The free Thanksgiving meal has become a tradition at Georgie’s Café.
Reed said it started much smaller but has grown dramatically over the years. Now the holiday meal event has pretty much reached critical mass.
“We’re serving around 1,800 meals on Thanksgiving Day,” Reed said. “There’s not really any way we can reasonably do more than that.”
To accentuate that point, the café received a 1,200-pound shipment of turkey Sunday.
While this is the 17th year the café has been giving away free Thanksgiving meals, Reed said she’s made it a habit since 1985.
“I’ve done this wherever I’ve been,” Reed said. “This place is crawling with love on Thanksgiving Day.”
The Verde Valley Senior Center and its valley-wide Meals-on-Wheels program are also getting into the holiday spirit.
Special Thanksgiving meals are being delivered around the area on Wednesday, Nov. 25, the day before the holiday.
“We’re sending out 225 meals throughout the Verde Valley,” said Elaine Bremner, executive director of the center. “Clear out to Verde Lakes.”
The center, located at 500 E. Cherry St., is also opening that day at noon to also serve a traditional meal.
While the center will feed anyone, a small donation is encouraged. Call ahead at 634-5450.
Bremner said it takes funding to operate the meals program and that funding is tight.
The program also needs volunteers.
Because the center is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, people who donate can receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on their Arizona State taxes.
That’s up to $400 filing jointly and $200 filling individually.
“Seventy-three percent of the people we serve can’t afford to give even $1,” Bremner said.
