Thanksgiving volunteers stress importance of community, service on holiday

Patrons of the annual New Bloomfield community Thanksgiving dinner eat their meal and visit with friends inside the town's United Methodist Church. The tradition has continued for nine years now, with about 125 people total being served in most recent years.
Patrons of the annual New Bloomfield community Thanksgiving dinner eat their meal and visit with friends inside the town's United Methodist Church. The tradition has continued for nine years now, with about 125 people total being served in most recent years.

NEW BLOOMFIELD - The smells of Thanksgiving filled the lower level room of the United Methodist Church in New Bloomfield on Thursday.

The scene just before 11 a.m. was typical for the holiday - a woman chopping onions, men and women keeping what's already cooked hot, children setting out dessert and decorating the walls with images of turkeys, pilgrims and pumpkins.

These volunteers - more than 15 - prepared a free Thanksgiving meal for the hungry people about to walk through the church's double doors.

This annual event is the brainchild of Tom Levin of New Bloomfield. His wife, Janet Levin, said the fact that some people have nowhere to go or sometimes not much to eat on the feasting holiday upset Tom and he decided to do something about it. That was nine years ago, and the Levins family, with help from many volunteers and donations of funds and food from the community, have made the community dinner possible ever since.

About 80 people were served the first couple years, but attendance has grown to more than 125 in recent years.

Janet Levin said when Tom Levin first told her about his new mission, she wasn't surprised.

"This is my husband," she said looking around the room. "My husband is a very caring person. He typically puts others ahead of himself ... Stuff doesn't matter to him. People do. Relationships do."

And, that's exactly Tom Levin's favorite aspect of Thanksgiving each year. He delivered food to various parts of Callaway County on Thursday, and while he brings a warm meal, he also gives a warm heart - listening to people and taking the time to visit with them despite the hustle and bustle the day brings.

"I'm just glad to be an ear," Tom said. "That's what I love the most about it - just the connections."

Chris and Mary Scott of Holts Summit have volunteered for the past five years, bringing their young boys each time. They come back each year, Chris Scott said, to show their children the importance of giving back.

"It's all in the name of service," he said.

Christi Warner of Fulton was a first-time volunteer, working in the kitchen on Thanksgiving. Warner, a former Fulton business owner, said she wanted to show appreciation to the Callaway County community that supported her while she ran her operation.

"I wanted to give back to a community that's given to me," she said. "It just seemed like a good way to spend the day."