“That's all cooked turkey,” grinned Schraufnagel. “We've still got a few more to fill before Thursday.”
Thursday is, of course, Thanksgiving Day. And those pans are proof of all that's good and troubling at Missoula's largest emergency homeless shelter and soup kitchen.
“Last year, we saw about 400 people on Thanksgiving,” said Poverello Center director Ellie Hill. “This year we're expecting a minimum of 600.”
That increase in clients has put the kitchen staff at the Poverello in high gear for more than a week already. Schraufnagel, who serves as the center's kitchen and building manager, has been cooking turkeys - five at a time, some 50 in all - every night since Monday, Nov. 17.
“We put them in the oven at 5 p.m. every night at 200 degrees,” explained Schraufnagel. “I take them out the next morning when I get here at 6 a.m. and put them into the freezer. With all the food we prepare on a daily basis, that's the only way that we can keep doing what we do and still get them all cooked in time for Thanksgiving.”
“It's a good way to cook them, though,” Schraufnagel added. “When you take them out of the pan, the meat's just falling off the bone.”
Such silver linings are worth celebrating in these challenging times. In the past year, the Poverello has seen a 100 percent increase in the number of people it serves on a regular basis, Hill said. Many of those new visitors are what Hill refers to as “working poor” - often young families who struggle to keep food on the table.
“I think most people in Missoula don't realize that the clients we're serving are your waitress and the guy who pumps gas for you - people who are working hard, but who can't afford to feed their families on what they make,” she said.
There's also an increase in the number of seniors using the center's resources. Hill said many of those clients have seen their retirement savings dwindle as the stock market has tanked.
“It's unprecedented, the number of folks we're serving on all levels of poverty,” Hill said. “It has definitely put more pressure on the services we offer.”
Dormitories for overnight visitors are crammed tight, often past capacity. Food coming in the door goes out the door quickly.
Meantime, cash donations to the center are down.
“A lot of our longtime larger donors don't have the same kind of money they had last year and they aren't able to continue with the same amount of donations,” Hill said. “Unfortunately, that just makes it harder for us to fulfill our mission.”
Hill said individual gifts of food, toiletries and cash - especially cash - are more important than ever to keep the center running.
“We'll take everything from turkeys to toilet paper,” Hill said. “We would just encourage people who are planning their holiday meal to consider buying enough for a couple of extra guests, and dropping it off down here (at the center). The folks we serve see it affect them directly if we don't have the resources to serve them. These are hand-to-mouth people who are the most marginalized people in our society.”
Nevertheless, whiffs of hope mingle with the smell of cooked turkey as staff and volunteers prepare for Thursday's meal. Plenty of volunteers have already signed up to help keep things running smoothly Thursday; local civic and religious groups plan to decorate the dining hall, and local musicians will perform throughout the day.
It all comes together at 11:30 on Thursday morning, when the doors of the Poverello's dining hall open. Volunteers and staffers will serve up traditional dishes - turkey and gravy, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes stuffing, pumpkin pie and so on - to anyone in need of a hot meal until 6:30 p.m.
“To me, this is the most special day of the year,” Schraufnagel said. “I love it. My family comes, I bring my children. Thanksgiving at the Pov really does have the feeling of one big family here.
“It's really moving to see the compassion that flows out of the community.”
Reporter Joe Nickell can be reached at 523-5358 or at jnickell@missoulian.com.
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Events, meals on tap for Turkey Day
Missoulian
Here's a look at some of the Thanksgiving observances and meals planned in western Montana this week:
Pastor Erik Iverson, who oversees a shared parish in the Seeley Lake and Swan Lake areas, will conduct a Wednesday Thanksgiving Eve service at 7 p.m. at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 1655 Airport Road, in Seeley Lake, (406) 677-2281. Thanksgiving Day worship will be at 10 a.m. at Faith Lutheran Church, Highway 83 at mile marker 43-44 in Condon, (406) 754-2324.
The Poverello Center will serve its annual Thanksgiving dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 535 Ryman St. in downtown Missoula. Last year, the Pov served close to 400 people. The meal, as always, is free to anyone who would like to come. (The Pov still seeks donations of turkeys and other food.)
On Thanksgiving Day, breakfast will be served from 4 to 7:30 a.m. and the clothing room will be open from noon to 6:30 p.m. There will be live music and the kitchen is often staffed by volunteers who are well-known community members. For more information, call Ellie Hill, executive director, at 728-1809.
Want to get some exercise Thanksgiving morning before the feast later? Join Missoula area Nia teachers at 9:10 Thanksgiving morning for an hour of fun moving at the Downtown Dance Collective, 121 W. Main St.
Nia is a joyful, funky, happy movement practice that combines the martial arts, dance arts and healing arts into health-giving movement. Everyone is welcome.
For more exercise, the Missoula Family YMCA will be holding its annual Thanksgiving Day exercise opportunities Thursday between 9 and 10:45 a.m. at its Health & Wellness Center. The following activities are scheduled: family aerobics from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m.; step aerobics from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m.; and cycling class at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. These events are open to the community and the cost of admittance is one nonperishable food item per person. All food items collected will be donated to the Missoula Food Bank. For more information, call the Missoula Family YMCA at 721-YMCA (9622). The Missoula Family YMCA is located at 3000 S. Russell St. in Missoula.
Does your group sponsor a Thanksgiving meal or event? If so, let the Missoulian know and we'll publish notice of the event this week. E-mail items to newsdesk@missoulian.com, or by fax to (406) 523-5294.
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Joe wrote on Nov 26, 2008 12:51 PM: