By Mark Diaz~
For more than three decades volunteers and businesses from all over San Luis Obispo County have come together the day before Thanksgiving to prepare a feast of free meals during the Pismo Beach Police Officers Association (PBPOA) hosts Annual Thanksgiving Dinner.
Pismo Beach Police Chief Jake Miller has been involved with the annual dinner for over 20 years.
“This is something the community puts on, through donations either monetary or otherwise,” Miller said. “We are just kind of the facilitator now. The community holds it for the community. The big message is that this was a great idea; it’s the right thing to do. We hope we’re reaching the people who really need it, but it’s also for folks who really don’t have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving.”
Miller is full of examples of how people and businesses have gone above and beyond to make this event a success year after year.
“We asked the owner of 7-Eleven in Pismo if he would mind donating some coffee, now every year he sets up two tables fully decked out with creamers, flavor syrups and donuts so the early crew can set up and have some coffee and a donut,” Miller Said.
Formerly, Marie Callender’s cooked the turkeys, but after shutting their doors in January 2014, Miller had to find an alternative cooking facility. Fortunately, the people in charge of the California Men’s Colony offered their ovens to cook the vast majority of the 95-100 turkeys. The CMC plans to cook the turkeys again this year.
“We clean them, we bag them, we put them all in tins and we drive them out. We get there, they’re unloaded pick them up and they’re done the next day.” Miller said.
Twenty four hundred pounds of turkey, 1,500 pounds of potatoes, 35 cases of stuffing, 20 cases of broccoli and 10 cases of cranberry sauce will be prepared–enough to feed the expected 3,000 attendees. The leftovers are donated to the People’s Kitchen every year.
“And that’s fantastic, because then it’s going directly to the people we started this for.” Miller said.
Miller said that it only takes about two hours to carve almost 100 turkeys thanks to the Nipomo Rotary. “They, within two hours, have 2300 pounds carved up divided between white and dark meat, rewrapped and back in the car,” Miller said.
Lately, money is presenting a challenge.
“Money is starting to get tight,” Miller said. “The first year I did this, we were paying 29 cents a pound, now we’re paying $1.59.”
People have offered to donate turkeys and food and Miller has to turn them away mostly due to the fact that there isn’t a place to store the turkeys for a long period of time. Miller said that one of the best ways to help is through monetary donations.
The Pismo Beach Police Officers Association hosts the Annual Thanksgiving Dinner mega-meal on Wednesday, Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving Day, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Pismo Beach Veteran’s Hall located at 780 Bello Street. Homebound people needing meals delivered must call 709-0142 on the day of the event between noon and 5 p.m. to arrange for delivery. The Citizen Patrol volunteers from the Pismo Beach, Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande police departments the Sheriff’s Department and the CHP make up the delivery team. Takeout orders are available too.
For more information or to make a donation, call Anita Channell 773-7018. Mail checks made out to the Pismo Beach Police Officers Association to 1000 Bello Street
