The pandemic couldn’t stop Breaking Bread Ministries from coming together to provide Thanksgiving meals for the Mitchell community on Thursday.
While the annual Community Thanksgiving meal looked a bit different this year with the ongoing coronavirus, Amy Nebelsick, president of Breaking Bread Ministries, said hosting the event was more critical than ever considering the circumstances. After serving just under 2,000 free meals on Thursday afternoon, the faith-based organization exemplified the spirit of giving.
“We talked about whether we should have hosted it, but we just feel like people need this Thanksgiving meal more than ever this year after all the things everyone has been through,” Nebelsick said. “The need for people to have this meal available this year is what sets a fire in our great team of volunteers who care so much about their community.”
To accommodate community members who opted to stay home, the group of volunteers delivered meals, which was a popular choice. In addition, the group served food through a curbside pickup option in front of the Mitchell Wesleyan Church. For those who sought to dine-in, meals were served inside the Mitchell Wesleyan Church.
As many parts of the country are experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases, it’s altered many families' Thanksgiving plans. After it was announced that the Thanksgiving meal was on, Nebelsick said she received a swath of phone calls from people living out-of-state who have family members residing in Mitchell, thanking the group for hosting the event this year.
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“I have had calls from people living in Colorado, Arizona and California, and they were saying ‘God bless you for doing this,’ along with asking us if we can deliver a meal to their loved one living in Mitchell,” Nebelsick said. “It was just awesome to hear so many people thanking us since they were so worried about their family members not having a Thanksgiving meal.”
