Community Thanksgiving Dinner returns

After missing last year due to the concern over a surge in COVID-19, the Havre Community Thanksgiving Dinner will be held this year, though all the meals will be either delivered to those who can't get out of the house or handed out at St. Jude Parish Center as to-go meals.

To ensure a successful community dinner, though, volunteers are needed, organizer Deb Rhines said.

People can volunteer for as little or as much as they can fit into their schedule, she added.

Times when volunteers can help are:

• Wednesday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. - put away groceries, clean and cut vegetables and kitchen cleanup.

• Wednesday 5 to 8 p.m. - carve turkeys, slice pies and kitchen cleanup.

• Thursday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. - prep food, box-up food for delivery, serve food in to-go boxes and kitchen cleanup.

Volunteers will be assembling to-go meals for delivery to homebound people in the morning and they will put together more meals just prior to opening the doors at 11 a.m. Thursday when they usually have a crush of diners. And they will help diners dish up their to-go meals from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The system organizers came up with, Rhines said, is for people to line up at the front door, come through and get their meal or the meals for their household in to-go boxes and exit through the back door of the Parish Center.

Everyone is required to wear a mask, from diners to volunteers, Rhines said, and if the weather is bad Thanksgiving Day diners will be allowed to form the line in the Parish Center.

To have a meal delivered, people need to call North Central Senior Center during business hours at 406-265-5464 before 4 p.m. Wednesday.

To volunteer, people can call or text Deb Rhines at 406-945-2833.