Duluth volunteers prepare to serve, deliver thousands of Thanksgiving meals in 35th annual event
Volunteers peel potatoes for the 2016 Thanksgiving Day Buffet at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.
Courtesy of Monica Hendrickson via College of St. Scholastica
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For some Minnesotans, Thanksgiving is a community event. Volunteers in Duluth have spent Monday and Tuesday peeling and cooking 2,000 pounds of potatoes — that’s about the weight of a small car — as part of the work behind the College of St. Scholastica’s free Thanksgiving Day Buffet.
The event is 35 years running and now takes place at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Organizers this year expect to serve more than 3,000 people and deliver 1,000 meals to homebound Duluthians.
MPR News host Nina Moini talks with Monica Hendrickson, who has led the effort for about a decade, and Kala Pederson, who coordinates meal deliveries.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
NINA MOINI: For some Minnesotans, including my next two guests. Thanksgiving is a community event. Volunteers in Duluth have spent the last two days peeling and cooking 2,000 pounds of potatoes. That's about the weight of a small car.
And this is just part of the work behind the College of St. Scholastica's free Thanksgiving Day Buffet at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Organizers expect to serve more than 3,000 people and deliver 1,000 meals to homebound Duluthians. Monica Hendrickson has led the effort for about a decade, and she's on the line. Hi, Monica.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Hello.
NINA MOINI: Thank you for being here. And Kala Pederson is coordinating the meal deliveries. Thank you for being here as well, Kayla.
KALA PEDERSON: Thank you so much for having us.
NINA MOINI: Well, I think that you all have been pretty busy peeling away. I'm glad you could make time for us here. Getting down to the wire. Monica, let me start with you. Could you paint a picture for us, really, of what it does take to pull off this event? Like, what are you doing today and tomorrow?
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Yeah, we have been very busy. Right now, they're in the kitchen finishing cooking up the turkeys and mashing massive amounts of potatoes.
NINA MOINI: [LAUGHS]
MONICA HENDRICKSON: [LAUGHS] But really, the effort happens year round for us. So we're fundraising. We're finding key lead volunteers throughout the year. When you're talking a magnitude of people that are coming through for a meal, really, it comes down to leadership and having multiple levels of leadership and just so many different walks of life, everything from logistics.
It's heavy lifting. It's sitting for long periods of time making phone calls, returning all the phone calls, answering all the questions. But then on top of it, we have a volunteer who's here right now from our committee. She is folding about 500 T-shirts for volunteers and-- [LAUGHS]
NINA MOINI: Wow. Yeah.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: It's a very large operation. But it's done with a lot of love, and we have a lot of fun. There's a lot of laughter happening today.
NINA MOINI: Oh, I bet. Kala, and so you're part of the equation here, is making sure that the home deliveries go smoothly. I think it's so great that you all do these home deliveries. How do you make sure that that all goes smoothly?
KALA PEDERSON: Yeah, it's really rewarding to get to make these phone calls to our community partners that may be homebound or have other disabilities that can't make it to the in-person event that we have at the DECC. So starting about October, we start getting phone calls from community members requesting meals for themselves and their caregivers as well.
So I listen to all those voicemails and take down all of their information and also do a lot of high-touch following up, just so they know, that they feel some solace that they're on the list and that they're going to get their meal on Thanksgiving. And this year, we actually have about 1,500 meals that--
NINA MOINI: Wow.
KALA PEDERSON: --our drivers are going to deliver this year. So I think it might be, outside of the COVID years, the most ever, so.
NINA MOINI: Amazing.
KALA PEDERSON: So, really exciting. Yeah.
NINA MOINI: Yeah, amazing. So really quick, Kala, is this something people can still sign up for, for Thanksgiving or people can still come to the event, or is it pretty much booked up?
KALA PEDERSON: Yeah, so anyone can come to the DECC on Thanksgiving Day for the event. There is no sign-up for that. And we welcome anyone to come down there and have a meal, be with people, meet new people, come with their families. It's a really beautiful place for community and connection. So I hope to see if anyone out there is listening to come out and visit with us. It's a really, really special event.
NINA MOINI: Yeah, why not? And Monica, 35 years. I know you've been there for a decade. Can you tell us about how it got started and what's really the mission behind it?
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Yeah, so it started over a little restaurant. It's gone now. It was called The Library over in Superior, Wisconsin, just across the bridge. And it was just a business owner who wanted to help some folks who were in need. And it started out with-- I think it was 20 people. And it just kept growing. And the community rallied around it.
Duluth Superior is-- it's a larger market. But it's very much a hometown and has that community feel where people want to take care of each other, especially during the holidays. And so as it continued to grow, it outgrew that restaurant. And we are now at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. It is the only place in the area that can handle the volume of food and the volume of people who are coming to eat the meal.
It's a free meal. You can give a free will offering. But on Thanksgiving morning, we will open the doors at 11 o'clock. And we have perfected all of our systems and processes. We can feed about 700 people in about 20 minutes. We can get them--
NINA MOINI: Wow.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: --through the lines and seated. So it's quite the feat. We have great volunteers. But it's just expanded throughout the years. And as Kala had alluded to, the COVID years were really interesting. But it's like, this is our first year where we feel like we're expecting the numbers to be back to where they were pre-COVID. A lot of people are really struggling right now with their grocery bills, and whether it's one person in your family or 12.
And so a lot of times, with the event, we'll get extended families that come. And they'll gather everyone around three or four different tables, and they'll have their meal here. And watching the different generations interact is fantastic. It's such a great day to be part of. And again, encourage anyone who can get here from 11:00 to 3:00 down at the DECC.
NINA MOINI: Yeah, and Monica, you mentioned meeting new people. A lot of people associate Thanksgiving with, you're in the house, you're with just your small group or your family or your close friends. What's your pitch for getting people to spend it out in the community like this?
MONICA HENDRICKSON: I think once you've been part of it once, you want to always be part of it. So a lot of our volunteers come back year after year. People who maybe had to take a couple years off are coming back. But the thing that we hear a lot of is, it's just, this time of year, especially, you're reflecting on your life. You're coming into the holidays.
And I just think with where the world is at, you can come here, and everyone's just happy. And they're enjoying a meal. And it's a big event, but we try really hard to make it special for somebody who is maybe coming alone. We have volunteers that will go and sit with people and just have a conversation with them because it might be the only connection they have that week. So we try really hard to just bring that family feel into whether it's those meals that are being delivered or if somebody is here at the DECC alone.
NINA MOINI: Sure, sure. Kala, speaking of volunteers, I'm curious how you got started volunteering and what keeps you coming back.
KALA PEDERSON: Yeah, I'd love to share. So I actually, in 2019, volunteered just as a regular volunteer in the dining room during the Thanksgiving Buffet, bussing tables, conversing with community members. And that really opened up my eyes to just what a big community collaborative effort and seeing the connection with so many people in there. And it just made me feel connected to it and eager to participate in other ways, maybe, in the future.
Just as Monica said, once you experience it one time, you're a little bit hooked on joining in years after that. So I had reached out to Monica the following year to see if they needed any help. And that's when I started helping with making phone calls to our homebound community members and just checking in and reminding them that they are on the list for a meal to be delivered. Which then led to me actually joining the leadership steering committee and overseeing the home delivery aspect of it.
NINA MOINI: Wow.
KALA PEDERSON: Yeah, and then these last few--
NINA MOINI: Amazing.
KALA PEDERSON: Yeah, it's been really great. Monica's leadership makes it just super enjoyable, and it makes you want to do really good. And now my husband and my mother-in-law both are--
NINA MOINI: Aw.
KALA PEDERSON: --involved and look forward to it each year, too.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. So you can get the family involved, too. Before we let you go--
KALA PEDERSON: That's right.
NINA MOINI: --Monica, real quick, how can people help with this effort while it's-- giving or donating or volunteering?
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Yeah, so the College of St. Scholastica has our website. It's css.edu/thanksgiving. You can make donations online. You can send checks into the college. Right now, our volunteers, we are full.
NINA MOINI: Oh, great.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: We've been full for over a week, and that's never happened before--
NINA MOINI: Wow.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: --which is amazing, again, a testament to the community really coming together.
NINA MOINI: So people can get that--
MONICA HENDRICKSON: But all the information--
NINA MOINI: Yeah.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Yeah.
NINA MOINI: Online.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Yeah, all the information is out online.
NINA MOINI: All right. Thank you both so much. Best of luck with everything. Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you for your efforts.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Thank you so much.
KALA PEDERSON: Thank you.
NINA MOINI: That's Monica Hendrickson of St. Scholastica's Thanksgiving Day Buffet and Kala Pederson, amazing volunteer there. Thank you all for listening. That's it for Minnesota Now.
And this is just part of the work behind the College of St. Scholastica's free Thanksgiving Day Buffet at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Organizers expect to serve more than 3,000 people and deliver 1,000 meals to homebound Duluthians. Monica Hendrickson has led the effort for about a decade, and she's on the line. Hi, Monica.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Hello.
NINA MOINI: Thank you for being here. And Kala Pederson is coordinating the meal deliveries. Thank you for being here as well, Kayla.
KALA PEDERSON: Thank you so much for having us.
NINA MOINI: Well, I think that you all have been pretty busy peeling away. I'm glad you could make time for us here. Getting down to the wire. Monica, let me start with you. Could you paint a picture for us, really, of what it does take to pull off this event? Like, what are you doing today and tomorrow?
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Yeah, we have been very busy. Right now, they're in the kitchen finishing cooking up the turkeys and mashing massive amounts of potatoes.
NINA MOINI: [LAUGHS]
MONICA HENDRICKSON: [LAUGHS] But really, the effort happens year round for us. So we're fundraising. We're finding key lead volunteers throughout the year. When you're talking a magnitude of people that are coming through for a meal, really, it comes down to leadership and having multiple levels of leadership and just so many different walks of life, everything from logistics.
It's heavy lifting. It's sitting for long periods of time making phone calls, returning all the phone calls, answering all the questions. But then on top of it, we have a volunteer who's here right now from our committee. She is folding about 500 T-shirts for volunteers and-- [LAUGHS]
NINA MOINI: Wow. Yeah.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: It's a very large operation. But it's done with a lot of love, and we have a lot of fun. There's a lot of laughter happening today.
NINA MOINI: Oh, I bet. Kala, and so you're part of the equation here, is making sure that the home deliveries go smoothly. I think it's so great that you all do these home deliveries. How do you make sure that that all goes smoothly?
KALA PEDERSON: Yeah, it's really rewarding to get to make these phone calls to our community partners that may be homebound or have other disabilities that can't make it to the in-person event that we have at the DECC. So starting about October, we start getting phone calls from community members requesting meals for themselves and their caregivers as well.
So I listen to all those voicemails and take down all of their information and also do a lot of high-touch following up, just so they know, that they feel some solace that they're on the list and that they're going to get their meal on Thanksgiving. And this year, we actually have about 1,500 meals that--
NINA MOINI: Wow.
KALA PEDERSON: --our drivers are going to deliver this year. So I think it might be, outside of the COVID years, the most ever, so.
NINA MOINI: Amazing.
KALA PEDERSON: So, really exciting. Yeah.
NINA MOINI: Yeah, amazing. So really quick, Kala, is this something people can still sign up for, for Thanksgiving or people can still come to the event, or is it pretty much booked up?
KALA PEDERSON: Yeah, so anyone can come to the DECC on Thanksgiving Day for the event. There is no sign-up for that. And we welcome anyone to come down there and have a meal, be with people, meet new people, come with their families. It's a really beautiful place for community and connection. So I hope to see if anyone out there is listening to come out and visit with us. It's a really, really special event.
NINA MOINI: Yeah, why not? And Monica, 35 years. I know you've been there for a decade. Can you tell us about how it got started and what's really the mission behind it?
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Yeah, so it started over a little restaurant. It's gone now. It was called The Library over in Superior, Wisconsin, just across the bridge. And it was just a business owner who wanted to help some folks who were in need. And it started out with-- I think it was 20 people. And it just kept growing. And the community rallied around it.
Duluth Superior is-- it's a larger market. But it's very much a hometown and has that community feel where people want to take care of each other, especially during the holidays. And so as it continued to grow, it outgrew that restaurant. And we are now at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. It is the only place in the area that can handle the volume of food and the volume of people who are coming to eat the meal.
It's a free meal. You can give a free will offering. But on Thanksgiving morning, we will open the doors at 11 o'clock. And we have perfected all of our systems and processes. We can feed about 700 people in about 20 minutes. We can get them--
NINA MOINI: Wow.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: --through the lines and seated. So it's quite the feat. We have great volunteers. But it's just expanded throughout the years. And as Kala had alluded to, the COVID years were really interesting. But it's like, this is our first year where we feel like we're expecting the numbers to be back to where they were pre-COVID. A lot of people are really struggling right now with their grocery bills, and whether it's one person in your family or 12.
And so a lot of times, with the event, we'll get extended families that come. And they'll gather everyone around three or four different tables, and they'll have their meal here. And watching the different generations interact is fantastic. It's such a great day to be part of. And again, encourage anyone who can get here from 11:00 to 3:00 down at the DECC.
NINA MOINI: Yeah, and Monica, you mentioned meeting new people. A lot of people associate Thanksgiving with, you're in the house, you're with just your small group or your family or your close friends. What's your pitch for getting people to spend it out in the community like this?
MONICA HENDRICKSON: I think once you've been part of it once, you want to always be part of it. So a lot of our volunteers come back year after year. People who maybe had to take a couple years off are coming back. But the thing that we hear a lot of is, it's just, this time of year, especially, you're reflecting on your life. You're coming into the holidays.
And I just think with where the world is at, you can come here, and everyone's just happy. And they're enjoying a meal. And it's a big event, but we try really hard to make it special for somebody who is maybe coming alone. We have volunteers that will go and sit with people and just have a conversation with them because it might be the only connection they have that week. So we try really hard to just bring that family feel into whether it's those meals that are being delivered or if somebody is here at the DECC alone.
NINA MOINI: Sure, sure. Kala, speaking of volunteers, I'm curious how you got started volunteering and what keeps you coming back.
KALA PEDERSON: Yeah, I'd love to share. So I actually, in 2019, volunteered just as a regular volunteer in the dining room during the Thanksgiving Buffet, bussing tables, conversing with community members. And that really opened up my eyes to just what a big community collaborative effort and seeing the connection with so many people in there. And it just made me feel connected to it and eager to participate in other ways, maybe, in the future.
Just as Monica said, once you experience it one time, you're a little bit hooked on joining in years after that. So I had reached out to Monica the following year to see if they needed any help. And that's when I started helping with making phone calls to our homebound community members and just checking in and reminding them that they are on the list for a meal to be delivered. Which then led to me actually joining the leadership steering committee and overseeing the home delivery aspect of it.
NINA MOINI: Wow.
KALA PEDERSON: Yeah, and then these last few--
NINA MOINI: Amazing.
KALA PEDERSON: Yeah, it's been really great. Monica's leadership makes it just super enjoyable, and it makes you want to do really good. And now my husband and my mother-in-law both are--
NINA MOINI: Aw.
KALA PEDERSON: --involved and look forward to it each year, too.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. So you can get the family involved, too. Before we let you go--
KALA PEDERSON: That's right.
NINA MOINI: --Monica, real quick, how can people help with this effort while it's-- giving or donating or volunteering?
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Yeah, so the College of St. Scholastica has our website. It's css.edu/thanksgiving. You can make donations online. You can send checks into the college. Right now, our volunteers, we are full.
NINA MOINI: Oh, great.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: We've been full for over a week, and that's never happened before--
NINA MOINI: Wow.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: --which is amazing, again, a testament to the community really coming together.
NINA MOINI: So people can get that--
MONICA HENDRICKSON: But all the information--
NINA MOINI: Yeah.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Yeah.
NINA MOINI: Online.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Yeah, all the information is out online.
NINA MOINI: All right. Thank you both so much. Best of luck with everything. Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you for your efforts.
MONICA HENDRICKSON: Thank you so much.
KALA PEDERSON: Thank you.
NINA MOINI: That's Monica Hendrickson of St. Scholastica's Thanksgiving Day Buffet and Kala Pederson, amazing volunteer there. Thank you all for listening. That's it for Minnesota Now.
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