BILLINGS — The Montana Rescue Mission in downtown Billings is gearing up to serve 450 people a full Thanksgiving dinner, with preparation beginning several days in advance for the annual community feast.
See volunteers carving up turkeys on Tuesday:
On Tuesday, volunteers gathered at the kitchen and dining hall to focus specifically on preparing turkeys for the big meal. The mission will begin serving Thanksgiving dinner Thursday at noon to residents, and at 1:30 p.m., the meal opens to the general community.
Aside from turkey, of course, staff and volunteers at the rescue mission will also be serving mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, croissants and pie.
According to Joanna King, the program director of the Montana Rescue Mission, Thursday's dinner will be served restaurant-style with waiters and hosts to create a comfortable, dignified experience for each guest.
"Everybody needs to feel loved and like they belong, and serving them in this way, where it's not just handing them a plate of food, hosting them and seating them at the table, bringing the food to the table, treating people with so much grace and dignity... Everybody deserves that," she said.
The operation requires significant volunteer coordination, with 15 people working each day from Sunday through Wednesday, and 40 volunteers needed on Thanksgiving Day, to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Glen Pellett, the mission's food services manager, runs the kitchen. He said although kitchen staff are still providing regular lunch and dinner to the mission's guests, he said he still finds deep satisfaction in the work.
"I'm very blessed. I wake up in the morning wanting to go to work. It's a very rewarding job, not easy, but rewarding," Pellett said. "I absolutely love what I do. Every day is an adventure. You know, I'm not going to sit here and say it's the easiest job in the world, because it's not. But, anything worth doing is going to be hard to do."
The mission has prepared extensively for this year's meal. According to Pellett, the rescue mission has enough turkey meat to feed 600, although they expect 450 guests. Pellett said he stopped counting at 87 turkeys in the oven.
Last year, the shelter served 370 people, with Pellett indicating they're prepared for an increased demand this year.
"We're just really thankful," said King. "Thankful for donations. Half of our pies were donated by the community, and then folks that I go to church with donated cash, so I could go buy the rest of them."
To learn more about holiday volunteer opportunities at the Montana Rescue Mission, visit this link.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist, and portions of this article have been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
