Champaign Unit 4 has a plan to help residents achieve the best Thanksgiving possible under 2020’s unique circumstances.
Unit 4 will offer a free Thanksgiving meal this year, complete with turkey, mashed potatoes and other holiday essentials, in its “Thanksgiving To Go” program.
“During the traditional school year we provide a holiday meal the Thursday before Thanksgiving; that’s obviously not something we can do this year with COVID-19 and how we’re distributing food,” Unit 4 director of food services Laura Dees said. “We came up with ‘Thanksgiving To Go.'”
The meal — which Dees said is intended to be large enough “to feed an average family” — includes a 12-pound turkey, instant mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, dinner rolls and a full pumpkin pie.
Meals will be available for pick-up starting Nov. 23 at Unit 4’s regular food distributing sites (Garden Hills, Booker T. Washington and Jefferson). Meals must be ordered by Nov. 10 at (217) 351-3852.
Meals also are available for delivery for those homes that include a Unit 4 student. “We’re primarily a service of Unit 4 but we’re community-based right now,” Dees said. “If you do not have a student in Unit 4 you can utilize the drive-thru sites.”
Community partners have been vital to the program, Dees said, including various schools’ PTA organizations and CU Better Together.
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