KAILUA-KONA — Dozens of turkeys, 32 pans of stuffing, hundreds of pounds of potatoes.
This isn’t a typical family gathering, but everyone was part of the ohana Thursday at Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill for The Salvation Army’s Thanksgiving dinner.
“You just feel super connected,” said Peter Sharfin, 48 of Holualoa. “It’s all about humanity.”
For the past nine years, Jackie Rey’s has partnered with the Salvation Army and thrown open its doors Thanksgiving Day to feed the island’s hungry.
Everyone, regardless of circumstance, is welcome to join and eat free of charge, said Paul Streiter, owner and operator of Jackie Rey’s. That includes people who are just looking for a place where they can eat without being alone.
“It’s just for people in need, and sometimes need is not only financial,” he said. “It’s also just an emotional need.”
For Richard Wang, an officer with The Salvation Army, the dinner is a chance for some to experience a sense of normalcy.
“This is the one time they can feel ‘I’m a person,’” he said.
By coming to the restaurant, he said, they’re treated “exactly the same” as any other guest would be treated.
“That’s exactly the social need,” said Wang.
And by having Jackie Rey’s as a venue, as opposed to a church or other place, it creates a positive experience for people who might not otherwise ever get to eat in a restaurant.
“It’s a different feeling,” said Wang.
Sharfin, who came to the event with his fiancee and her family, said he came out in “the spirit of Thanksgiving” and the sense of community at the dinner.
“It’s more powerful than any place I’ve experienced,” he said.
His mom, he said, was at the dinner earlier preparing the boxed meals that were going to be delivered.
Austin Brown, 25, said this is his first year on the Big Island and came to the dinner with his girlfriend.
“I’m out here to have a good time and enjoy myself,” he said.
Anna Schmitt, dining room manager, said they expected to feed about 850 people.
That includes the 422 meals prepared in advance to be distributed throughout the area and meals that were going to be served in-house.
Given the scope of such an undertaking, planning begins long in advance, she said.
Planning, Schmitt said, begins in September, closely followed by efforts to reach out to potential donors.
She said both the restaurant and the Salvation Army reach out to their respective contacts for possible donations.
Cal-Kona Produce, for instance, donates a significant amount of produce each year, she said, while Suisan Co Ltd provided butter, cream and broth.
Getting the turkeys for the event also demonstrated the compassion in the community and support for the event.
In previous years, said Schmitt, they partnered with Buns in the Sun to get the birds roasted.
That couldn’t happen this year, so they put out a request, asking people if they could provide a turkey for the event.
“People really came and stepped up to our call for action for cooked turkeys,” she said. “When you ask, people come … that’s the aloha here.”
When you’re cooking for hundreds, even food prep requires a multi-day head start.
Starting this past Tuesday, she said, volunteers began coming in to prepare all the vegetables.
Streiter said volunteers helped chop produce and peel potatoes all in advance of the big day.
Volunteers also make up the servers, dish washers and runners during the dinner on Thursday, said Schmitt.
“It truly is a community supported event,” Schmitt said. “It could not be done without everyone’s cooperation and efforts to make this happen.”
Between the advanced preparation, day-of help and all the other assistance, Schmitt said there were probably about 200 volunteers involved in making Thursday’s meal happen.
All of that, said Streiter, came together in terrific fashion.
“It’s just an incredible outpouring of magic,” he said.