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Soupateria serves up Thanksgiving for plenty of patrons

Over 175 meals were served by the team of volunteers over two hours on Monday.
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By Brennan Phillips

Western News Staff

It takes a team and a lot of work to make Thanksgiving dinner for a family, let alone for the hungry patrons of the Soupateria

“It’s hard to know how many we’re going to have, that’s the trouble. We barely had enough stuff,” said Chris Grauer, who has taken charge of the Thanksgiving dinner for the last twenty-six years. He and eight other volunteers served a long line of patrons at the Soupateria on Monday.

More than 175 Thanksgiving meals went out of the small kitchen in the Soupateria over just two hours between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. It’s hard to keep exact track of how many went out, with many meals taken to go by patrons who didn’t sign in, but everyone left with something more than the usual fare.

Read More: Hungry can enjoy Thanksgiving meal thanks to Soupateria volunteers

“Our folks really enjoy it, it’s something special, something more than just sandwiches and soup, not that there’s anything wrong with that,” said Grauer. “It’s good for our folks here, they need something special once in a while.”

Grauer and the team of volunteers served up plates of complete Thanksgiving meals; turkey, carrots and peas, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy. The kitchen at the Soupateria only has one oven, so Gauer cooks up and portions out the turkeys ahead of time.

“I used to work at the Naramata Centre for Continuing Education, I cook all the turkeys there and they’re quite happy to let me use the kitchen to do that,” said Grauer. “They’ve got six ovens. Here we’ve got one oven, so it would take me forever.”

The Soupateria serves up special meals on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter for the hungry with the aid of their volunteer staff and donations from the local community. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer you can sign up online at the Soupateria’s website.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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