Coffee shop in downtown Brockville, Ont. to give away hundreds of Thanksgiving dinners Monday

What's become an annual Thanksgiving weekend tradition in Brockville, Ont. will be taking place Monday evening.

Since 2019, Richard's Coffeehouse has been providing hundreds of free Thanksgiving dinners for those in need in the city. 

"It's a way to give back to the community," explained owner Sam Rawas. "We are proud to have a full operation contributing to it."

The dinners will be handed out from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. on a first come, first serve basis. But the meals are not just reserved for homeless people, according to Rawas.

The goal of the holiday tradition is to make Richard's Coffeehouse feel like home.

"Everyone's welcome," he told CTV News.

"There's elderly people that come in and just love to feel the welcomeness of being with somebody at Thanksgiving and it's a joyful event."

Last year, they made over 400 turkey dinners, with all the classic Thanksgiving sides, and owner Sam Rawas tells CTV News they're hoping to have 500 ready to go this year.

He also added that none of it would be possible without his volunteers. The dinners take about one week to fully prepare and cook, but the coffee shop is still open and running on regular hours.

"Oh my God, my volunteers are great," he exclaimed.

"I give them something to do, what needs to happen, and they just take charge and keep at it. They're just fantastic. The whole community comes together very well."

Alanna and Tom Porteous, a married couple who recently moved to Brockville, were volunteers tasked with seasoning some of the twenty-two 20 pounds turkeys and organizing the coleslaw on Sunday.

Reflecting on how thankful she is, made Alanna emotional.

"We're very grateful for where we are in our lives," she said.

"It's a really good way to give back to the community. We're really proud of what Sam does in the community, and we're happy to give him a hand with that."

 

Her husband Tom said volunteering their time to give back is the least they can do.

"It's an amazing initiative for the community," he said as he scooped coleslaw into individual portions.

"It's just really important to me and my wife to help out and volunteer and just give back."

There is a slight difference to the process of handing out the meals in 2024, however.

Typically, Brockville Transit would deliver a few meals to those who are homebound, but this year it will be volunteers with the Leeds Grenville Community Paramedics.

Richard's Coffeehouse also gives away free dinners on Christmas Day.