LIVINGSTON — Happy Thanksgiving! Turkey anyone? Livingston’s free community dinner this Thanksgiving has plenty of it – thanks to a team of volunteers.
“I’ve been by myself in here doing turkeys till 4 in the morning on my own,” said Bob Broughton.
Broughton is a chef and the organizer of the Livingston Thanksgiving Community Dinner, which serves 700 free meals to folks on Thanksgiving Day.
“There are people to feed, and God gave me this gift, so I’m going to use it to take care of them,” said Broughton.
Inside Livingston's 700-Meal Free Thanksgiving Dinner Operation
Broughton says he took over as the organizer six years ago.
“I did step away from food for a little bit, and I ran a dispensary in town. One of my patients actually used to run this dinner,” said Broughton.
“They were moving out of state, so they asked if I would take it on,” he added. “I took it as a sign, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
MTN asked Broughton what goes into making this dinner possible, which he says consists of traditional Thanksgiving dishes, and includes options for dine-in, pick-up, and delivery.
“It’s become pretty cookie-cutter. I’d say it takes about 2 months,” said Broughton. He also said that he tries to receive everything through donations.
“We have to source 50 turkeys, we have to source green beans for casserole…” he said.
Another component, Broughton says, is the volunteers. “This year and some of the previous, I’ve had quite a few volunteers,” he said.
One of those volunteers is Abby Ungaretti, who coordinates the meals that are delivered and picked up
“I also set up the delivery routes, and I get volunteers to come help us,” said Ungaretti. She says that along the nine delivery routes, are senior and low-income homes and local county offices, including the police and fire
departments.
“And then any inmates that are in the detention center and the dispatchers as well,” she added.
Ungaretti says she loves volunteering because of the volunteers.
“It’s just a fun time to spend with other community members,” she said.
Some of those volunteers were at the Livingston Food Resource Center helping with the turkey preparations; from little kids to high schoolers and beyond.
“Ooh! Look at this!” said one kid, showing off a slice of turkey.
“It feels really good to be able to help out to the community and especially around the holidays to give back,” said Nola Hondor, a student at Park High.
MTN asked Broughton and Ungaretti what they would say to the community. Both had the same message:
“If you’re not involved with your community, get involved,” said Broughton.
“Get out and volunteer in your community. There’s nothing that can fill your heart quite like that,” said Ungaretti.
