Nov. 18—The Lenoir Soup Kitchen is gearing up to serve its annual Thanksgiving meal on Thanksgiving from its kitchen on College Avenue.
The meal will be served from 11 a.m. to noon Thursday, Nov. 23, from the kitchen that is located at 1113 College Ave. in Lenoir.
The meal will include turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy and pumpkin pie.
Moore's Ridge Catering of Lenoir has been providing and serving the Thanksgiving meals at the Soup Kitchen for the past 16 years.
Even though Walter Moore has recently retired from the business, his family continues operating the catering business and donating the Thanksgiving meal at Lenoir Soup Kitchen.
"I had several grandchildren under the age of 10 years-old when I started this," Moore said. "I wanted them to see that everyone didn't live like they did. I wanted them to see what the rest of the world was like."
The Lenoir Soup Kitchen was established in 1982 and has been feeding hot meals to the homeless and those down on their luck Monday through Friday ever since, according to Soup Kitchen director Angel Moretz.
The Soup Kitchen is funded by the United Way, foundations, individuals, churches, civic organizations and others.
Meals are served from the Soup Kitchen Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to noon.
Occasionally, area churches volunteer to provide meals and staff the kitchen to serve Sunday meals, also between 11 a.m. and noon. A board member is always present when meals are served, said Moretz.
The kitchen typically serves 50 to 75 people each day. On Thanksgiving and Christmas, as many as 100 people are served on each holiday.
"Moore's Ridge Catering of Lenoir has supplied the Thanksgiving meal for many years," Moretz said.
On Christmas Day, Lower Creek Baptist Church of Lenoir has provided food and volunteer workers for the Christmas meal for 36 years.
David Moore, a member of Lower Creek Baptist Church and a Lenoir Soup Kitchen board member, said he and his wife, Karen, became involved with the Soup Kitchen through the church.
"It's a blessing to us to do this all these years.," Moore said.