Palgrave United Church hosts turkey dinner

Make the plate to planet connection at Palgrave United Church's turkey dinner! There will be local peas, corn, potatoes, turkey, apples, plus fresh baked pies and fair trade organic coffee.

Tickets are $15 for adults; $6 for youth 67-10 and $2 for preschoolers. The event runs 4:30 to 7 p.m. and tickets will be on sale at door at 4 p.m. The event takes place Thursday, Oct. 4.

Palgrave United Church is located at 34 Pine Avenue. Volunteers are greatly appreciated. If you can help, contact Shelley Roberts at 905-880-0303.

Local produce and farmers providing the food for our feast include potatoes (Ann and Alvin Ward - Caledon East); apples (Albion Orchards); peas (VanDyken brothers); turkey (Chesslawn farms) and corn (Betty and Ron French).

For the past 85 years an annual dinner has happened. A poster hanging in the church vestibule invites the community to a FOWL supper for 55 cents an adult and 25 cents per child. Although no menu is mentioned on this poster, what was served in 1922 would have been local too! Now, 85 years later, the tradition continues celebrating the local harvest, sharing the feast with the community,

Volunteering to carve turkey, shelling peas (it took Gail Grant, Barb Imrie, Arlene Peters and Betty Bea 20 hours), husking corn (Turkey task force members prepared 300 cobs of corn in only two hours) and all for only $15!

This is a fund-raiser for the church but the cost of eating local (and supporting local farms and farmers) as well as reducing the meal's ecological footprint with less packaging, processing, green house gas emissions etc. is well worth the increase in $1 a ticket price this year!

Palgrave United Church has a membership of roughly 100. The turkey dinner brings out more than 50 volunteers within the community and outside the church - to celebrate, work together, and eat! Last year they served more than 400 meals.

A favourite song of Allison Imrie (turkey task force) from high school musical is entitled "We're all in this together."

What a wonderful way to become united this Thanksgiving!

If you would like to help, get credit for your community service hours at school, wash dishes (yes this year - no disposables!), bake pies, please contact Shelley Rogers at 905-880-0303.