New face in charge of staging Cambria Thanksgiving meal this holiday

With Election Day behind us, it’s time to think about pilgrims, turkeys, pumpkins and volunteering to help with Cambria’s community Thanksgiving Dinner that provides plenty of traditional holiday food and convivial companionship.

The annual meal will be served free to any and all from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 24, at the Veterans Memorial Building, 1000 Main St.

Many people spend hours and days donating their time and effort each year so the dinner can be offered without charge to diners. New coordinator Linda Giordano took over the reins from chef Daun Putney, who had been organizing the annual event for more than a decade.

People can dine at the hall, enjoying the company of others, musica l entertainment and decorating provided this year by Cambria 4H members. Meals can also be taken to go, and home delivery is available.

Call Giordano at 805-203-5147 or email her at caublondie@aol.com.

The meal includes the classics: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, fresh cranberries and more, plus lots of pies donated by individuals and Linn’s.

“Donations of pies are always welcome,” Giordano said. Baker-donors can drop them off between 9 and 10 a.m. at the vets hall kitchen.

Those who want to help with the meal can still volunteer to do so in other ways, too, Giordano said in a phone interview Tuesday, Nov. 8.

“We have so many volunteers, but we can always use more,” especially for duties such as set-up, food prep, serving, greeters, kitchen help, cleanup and delivery drivers. “The more drivers, the better,” Giordano said, “because that means we get the food to the people faster and hotter.”

Contact Giordano to volunteer.

This story was originally published November 9, 2016 at 10:38 AM with the headline "New face in charge of staging Cambria Thanksgiving meal this holiday."