SALT LAKE CITY — An ultimate Thanksgiving feast in downtown Salt Lake City Tuesday night brought a community of hundreds together to help those in need in a variety of ways.
It’s an event that has been happening for 30 years.
Volunteers showed up in force, including youth groups handing out meals and professional and student chefs doing the cooking and preparation.
It was a great night for Rebecca Snow, one of the many volunteers from the UVU Culinary Arts Institute who served up a delicious meal to hundreds of people at the Central City Recreation Center at 615 S. 300 E.
“It’s a privilege to be here to do this outreach and we love it,” said Snow.
This is the 30th year Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation has put on this free dinner — a chance to help those in need and those who simply want friendship and community support.
“It’s really tough. There are a lot of people still on the streets. It’s getting cold out there, man. This is a good thing,” said Bart Vrockes, who was enjoying the meal. “It’s a fun event, it puts smiles on peoples faces.”
“It’s very nice for all the people that put all their effort in this stuff and get together,” Paulo Aiono, another guest, added. “The food was great.”
The menu included 150 pounds of turkey, 100 pounds of mashed potatoes, 100 pounds of yams and 45 pies — all professionally prepared by the UVU culinary students.
“We’re thrilled to be here. We’re happy to be here. It really starts our holiday season off [right],” Troy Wilson, head chef at the UVU Culinary Institute, said. “It feels good. We’re humbled. We appreciate this opportunity. This is something that we actually look forward to every year.”
This marks the 13th year the UVU Culinary Arts school has participated, making everything fresh from scratch.
Related: Season of Service feeds 5,000 Utahns in Salt Lake City
