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Xenia Thanksgiving dinner changing this year

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XENIA — The annual free Thanksgiving dinner is going mobile this year.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, the Xenia Adult Recreation and Services Center will not be hosting the event. Instead, organizers will distribute the yummy food as a drive-through from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 26 at the senior center.

“We’re going to kind of have a course set up for cars to line up at the REACH center,” said co-organizer Josh Cernetic, president of the Xenia Area Association of Churches & Ministries. “They’ll work their way through.”

Upon reaching the front, motorists will inform the volunteers what they would like to have and it will be handed to them. The food is cooked and repackaged in single serving containers.

Because of COVID, meals will be limited to 500, Cernetic said, adding that home delivery will be available to those who are unable to make it out of their home and those who normally receive home-delivered meals from the senior center.

Cernetic said residents don’t need to arrive before 10:30 and families who need a larger quantity should arrive within the first hour. There are no set quantity limits, but Cernetic stressed that residents should be respectful of others when requesting food.

“In the past we’ve not had anybody abuse it,” Cernetic said. “(And) we never have run out of food in the past.”

Typically between 400-450 meals are served including deliveries.

The meal, which includes all the traditional items of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and desserts, is a collaboration of the XAACM, the Xenia senior center, WGC Golf Course, and the Greene Memorial Foundation, which made a monetary donation, Cernetic said.

As in previous years, volunteers are needed to help at the senior center distribution or with home delivery. To volunteer, or request a delivery, call Mayor Sarah Mays at 937-603-5643.

By Scott Halasz

[email protected]

Contact Scott Halasz at 937-502-4507.