Powerhouse Community Development serves more than 1,600 meals on Thanksgiving Day
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Powerhouse Community Development is continuing the legacy of former Columbia First Ward Councilwoman Almeta Crayton by serving more than 1,600 meals at its annual Thanksgiving dinner.
The event ran from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday with dozens of volunteers cooking, serving and packing meals out of Columbia's Progressive Missionary Baptist Church.
"I think it's just such a beautiful thing that there's just an open door and food for anybody that wants to have it; so everyone can be a part of the holiday in their own way," volunteer Daniel Marston said.
The Columbia Rotary Club donated more than 60 turkeys. According to Powerhouse founder and event organizer Charles Stephenson, this came in handy, along with helpful volunteers after the organization ran into some roadblocks when planning the event. But, he said, the event was successful.
"It's just been one of those years where everybody just pitched in and didn't just say, 'Oh, you know, if I can't do what I signed up to, I'm not going to work at all,'Â and we had people that stayed over that knew we were shorthanded. So, it's just been great," Stephenson said.
This event marked Powerhouse's fourth annual Thanksgiving feast. Crayton founded the initial event in 1997 on her front porch. Back then, the celebration was named "Everybody Eats."
Event volunteer Randy Gay has volunteered at 26-of-the-27 Thanksgiving dinners. Gay said Crayton was a was very compassionate and caring, even when she fell ill before she died in 2013.
"She was a strong lady of faith and she just had a conviction for all people that they would never be hungry during the holiday season," Gay said.
Following her death, community leader Kentrell Minton took over the event until his passing in 2020.
"I think she was on to something," Stephenson said, "I don't know if she knew it would continue to be this big after her demise, but it continues to grow."
