The Jerry Lewis’ McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Dinner will be held on Thursday, Nov 22 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Lima Veteran’s Memorial Civic and Convention Center.

This year marks the 8th year for the Jerry Lewis’ McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Dinner which was started in 1989 by the Chester Carey Family.

“Each year the dinner continues to grow, a great deal of which is due to the economy. We know that now, more than ever, it is important to have a place for people to eat and fellowship on a special day like Thanksgiving,” says local McDonald’s Owner, Jerry Lewis.

The dinner will include the traditional Thanksgiving fixings, including turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie and more. Enough food will be prepared to feed 3200 guests. More than 800 pounds of turkey, 800 pounds of mashed potatoes, 540 pounds of stuffing, 300 pounds of gravy, more than 200 pies and 24 pounds of whipped cream will be prepared that day.

The dinner is free and open to the public, everyone is welcome.

“Some guests join us because they are not financially or physically able to prepare a meal. Others join us because they do not have any friends or relatives in town this year. Either way, we become a family that day fellowshipping together,” says Jerry Lewis.

In addition to the dinner, there will be clothing and grocery giveaways. Only Believe Ministries in Botkins will bring a school bus filled with clothing. Guests will be able to take with them any needed clothing items including pants, shirts, shoes, coats and hats.
There will again be a grocery bag giveaway for guests. Last year, each guest was able to take home several bags of groceries in addition to the hot meal they received at the Thanksgiving Day Dinner.

Jerry Lewis says, “Our goal is not just to feed someone for one meal, but to provide them with enough food for several meals. We are able to do this year after year thanks to our many community partners.”

The grocery giveaway is made possible through the generous donations of many local organizations including the Boy Scouts of Allen County, Maverick Media radio stations and Save-A-Lot Food Stores.

The Boy Scouts are currently collecting non-perishable food and toiletry items during business hours at the Scout Shop located at 752 W. Robb Avenue in Lima.

New Country 92.1 the Frog, part of a five station radio group known as Maverick Media, and Save-A-Lot Food Stores have also teamed up again this year for a Cram the Van event to collect items for the Thanksgiving Day Dinner.

Various Maverick Media radio stations will be at the three Save-A-Lot Food Stores in Lima, on Cole and Robb, Bellefontaine East, and Vine and Elizabeth, on Monday and Tuesday, Nov 19 and 20.

For every $3 donation that a customer adds to their bill, one bag of groceries will be donated to the Thanksgiving Day Dinner.

Free transportation to and from the event will be provided if needed. RTA will have one bus running from 10a.m. until 3p.m. on Thanksgiving Day to transport people to and from the dinner and the following locations: Pilgrim Place Apartments, The Towers Apartments, Fourth Street Apartments, Furl Williams Apartments, Lima West Apartments, and up and down Brower Rd.

“Year after year we continue to be amazed at the community’s willingness to give up their own Thanksgiving to serve one another,” says Jerry Lewis.

At this time we are still accepting volunteers for the afternoon portion of the dinner. We are also taking names for volunteers for the 2013 Jerry Lewis’ McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Dinner.

For more information about the Jerry Lewis’ McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Dinner or to sign up to volunteer for the 2012 or 2013 dinner, please call 419-225-5916.

Jerry Lewis would like to thank the many community partners that help make the Thanksgiving Day Dinner possible include: The new 92.1 The Frog and Maverick Media radio group, Save A Lot Food Stores, The Boy Scouts of Allen County, Allen County  Refuse, Coca Cola, Only Believe Ministries, New Horizons Baking Company, Temple Christian Schools, Dickerson Wrightway Food Service, Allen County RTA, Jose and Sons Recycling, Lima Allen County Veteran’s Memorial and Civic Convention Center, Kettle Creations and Miller’s Textile Service.