Monday, December 04, 2006

Post provides Thanksgiving dinner to local shelter

Fort Belvoir provided Thanksgiving dinner to the Eleanor Kennedy Homeless Shelter last week with the help of the Association of the U.S. Army and the Fort Belvoir Community Club.

“There are a lot of people that are sick and homeless,” said Jadana Donely, catering director at the Fort Belvoir Community Club. “We take a lot of pride in being able to help our community.”

The Fairfax-Lee Chapter of the AUSA provided $400 worth of food, and the cooking staff at the community club began preparing the meal Nov. 21 by chopping celery, onions and bread for the homemade stuffing.

“It’s wonderful,” said Asha Finoh, assistant cook, who has helped prepare the meal for the past six years. “We rub the turkey with oil on the top and [put garlic and] rosemary inside.”

Two to three weeks before preparing the meal, the catering team orders the food and prepares the menu.

On Nov. 22 they began baking the three 20-pound turkeys, two 16-pound hams and herb seasoned stuffing at 7:30 a.m., in addition to normal cooking for the community club’s lunch buffet.

“[The shelter] appreciates that we do it,” said Amber Hodge, business operations manager at the Community Club, who has helped with the meal for the past seven years. “[We are helping] needy people.”

Around 2 p.m. on Nov. 22, Installation Commander Col. Brian Lauritzen and Command Sgt. Maj. Tracey Anbiya delivered the meal to the homeless shelter.

“I think that they’re a part of our community,” said Anbiya. “This is just a way that we give back to our community.”

The meal fed approximately 60 homeless people at the shelter on Thanksgiving Day at 4 p.m. The shelter cooks began preparing the meal at 5 a.m. that morning.

“It helps us with preparing the food and I know that [the recipients] appreciate it,” said Bernette Gilbert, cook at the Eleanor Kennedy Homeless Shelter. “It cuts our job in half.”

Currently, there are approximately 38 men and 12 women seeking refuge at the shelter. Between 5 and 10 percent of those people are veterans.

During the winter months the shelter has a “no turn away policy” that allows access to anyone who needs a warm spot to sleep.

During the day the shelter residents are required to be out looking for a job, working, seeking psychiatric help or volunteering.

Fort Belvoir has been providing this Thanksgiving meal for more than 14 years.

“The residents know that the community cares,” said Andrea Atilli, shelter director.