Up to 400 families received full, hot Thanksgiving meals last night as Haverhill’s John Greenleaf Whittier School sponsored its third annual Thanksgiving Feast Celebration.
Like last year, because of the ongoing pandemic, organizers Barbara Greenwood and Tiffany Midolo assembled a drive-up at the Concord Street school. Greenwood told WHAV the idea evolved to help families who would otherwise not enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. She explained the origins of the event and how it has changed.
“We always give out turkeys every year. This is an expansion of that, like actually feeding families, having them come in. The first year, we fed over 300 families at our school and we set up tables and we decorated. It was amazing. People loved it. Unfortunately, last year and this year, they’re not allowing us to have people in,” she told WHAV.
Again, as it has from the beginning, Covanta stepped in to pay for meals prepared by the Chicken Connection of Haverhill.
“Covanta has been amazing. Mark Van Weelden. When I asked him initially, three years ago, I didn’t even have to finish the sentence. He was on board. ‘What do you need?’ They’ve covered the cost for all the food,” Greenwood said.
Meals included turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, cranberry sauce and rolls.
Members of the school chorus also performed selections from their upcoming production of Roald Dahl’s “Willy Wonka Jr.” Under the direction of music teacher Bobby Gariepy, students sang for families driving up.
Greenwood thanked the many volunteer staff and National Junior Honor Society students that helped make the event happen.
Filling the dishes at John Greenleaf Whittier School are, from left, Carol Bioren, Paula Lessard and Eleanor Thompson. (WHAV News photograph.)