Declaring that “no member of our community should be alone or go hungry on Thanksgiving,” volunteers from Father Bill’s & MainSpring will deliver about 350 Thanksgiving meals to needy residents in Quincy and surrounding towns — and host community Thanksgiving dinners in Quincy and Brockton for another 350 people.
The nonprofit agency serves close to 7,000 people in southeastern Massachusetts, with the goal of preventing homelessness and providing shelter to those who need it.
About 150 volunteers typically help with the Thanksgiving celebrations, which feature roast turkey and all the traditional fixings — including pies baked by culinary students at Quincy High School, who also roast turkeys. Students from East Elementary School in Hingham are donating about 20 apple pies this year.
Father Bill’s & MainSpring has been providing the community dinners for more than 30 years, spokesman Patrick Ronan said.
“This is the time of year when we see our community at its best, with everyone working together to bring warmth, nourishment, and comfort to our most vulnerable neighbors,” said John Yazwinski, the oganization’s president and CEO. “We’re grateful to have such a compassionate network of supporters, volunteers, staff, and donors who believe that nobody should be homeless, hungry, or alone this holiday season.”
This year, the community dinners will be held in Quincy at Christ Episcopal Church, from noon to 2 p.m., and at the agency’s emergency shelter in Brockton — MainSpring House, 54 N. Main St. — from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Hingham Congregational Church donates about 60 turkeys for the Quincy dinner. Shaw’s supermarket in Weymouth, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and the Boston Bruins make generous donations of food and supplies, Ronan said.
In addition to the sit-down dinners, volunteers will deliver holiday meals to needy residents in Quincy, Milton, Weymouth, Braintree, Randolph, Holbrook, Hingham, Hull, and Cohasset.
People can request a meal delivery up until Wednesday, Nov. 27, at 3 p.m., by calling Father Bill’s at 617-770-3314 or applying online at helpfbms.org/thanksgiving2019.
On its webpage, Father Bill’s & MainSpring said that during the 2019 fiscal year the agency provided 259,976 meals to community members in need.
The agency said it provided shelter to 2,712 people and helped 349 households move into more permanent housing, 56 people find jobs, and prevented 339 families from becoming homeless.
Johanna Seltz can be reached at seltzjohanna@gmail.com.