The free Gratefull community Thanksgiving meal on Monday will feature something extra this year.
“We are partnering with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank for a food drive,” said Allyson Coker, executive director of Believe Greater Dalton, which organizes the meal.
“The two years we were unable to have the meal, 2020 and 2021, we created the Gratefull Giveback,” Coker said. “We didn’t want people to forget about it. We wanted to keep it in people’s minds and do something good for the community. In total, in those two years we collected about 7,000 pounds of food for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank’s local Whitfield County agencies. We thought about combining the two last year, but we decided to ease back into the meals before we added anything.”
The event will take place on Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Hamilton Street between the Burr Performing Arts Park and the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce headquarters.
More than 1,400 people attended the inaugural Gratefull meal in 2019. “Come as strangers, eat as family” was the goal. Hamilton Street was closed and a large table was placed in front of the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce headquarters at 100 S. Hamilton St. People sat at the table and enjoyed a meal complete with turkey and dressing, tamales, vegetable lasagna and many other foods as well as a great deal of fellowship.
Believe Greater Dalton, a project sponsored by the chamber, hoped to build on that success. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced the organization to change its plans. Instead of a community dinner, it hosted food drives to support local food banks in 2020 and 2021.
The meal resumed last year, and Coker said it was a big success with some 1,700 meals served.
The food drive won’t be the only addition to this year’s Gratefull.
“One of our focuses at Believe Greater Dalton is education,” said Stephani Womack, director of education and workforce development for Believe Greater Dalton. “We are very focused on making sure that our youngest learners have a home library, so we will be giving out books targeted to students age 3 to 5.”
The books are written in both English and Spanish.
“The (Dalton-Whitfield County Public Library) will also have a table where they will be giving out books for all ages,” Coker said.
And as with the previous Gratefull meals, there will be live music and games and activities for children.
Coker said the event isn’t just for Dalton residents but for everyone who lives and works in Whitfield County.
About 20 restaurants will be providing food.
“We’ll have a wide variety of food, including the traditional turkey and dressing,” Coker said. “Kasey Carpenter and the Oakwood Cafe will be providing that. We are so grateful for our local restaurants.”
Believe Greater Dalton focuses on six strategic areas to improve the community: educational outcomes, housing, entrepreneurship, economic development, downtown development and community pride.
A community member brought the idea for Gratefull to Believe Greater Dalton in 2018, based on a community dinner that has taken place annually in Chattanooga for several years. Several people active with Believe Greater Dalton and other community organizations volunteered with the Chattanooga dinner in 2018 to get a feel for what it takes to put on an event like that and decided they would like to try it here.
The goal is to bring the community together and help Dalton residents make new acquaintances, and Coker said the event draws a diverse group of people.