Salvation Army hosts 24th annual Thanksgiving dinner

The Salvation Army, Eastern Idaho businesses, local churches and community volunteers gathered Thursday at the Elk’s Lodge in Idaho Falls for the 24th annual Thanksgiving dinner.

They welcomed more than 300 people for a traditional Thanksgiving feast. More than 150 volunteers served meals to anyone who walked in the doors. Many were long time attendees and others, like Mike Wyatt, enjoyed his first time spending Thanksgiving at the Elk’s Lodge. “The people are awesome and the service is great. They treat us like a million dollars,” Wyatt said.

“There are folks who aren’t going to have a Thanksgiving dinner today and we’d like to have that available to them so they can come out and eat,” Major James Halverson of the Salvation Army said.

Chris Duliakis and his wife, who don’t have family nearby, volunteered at the dinner. “It’s just the two of us, so last year we bought a turkey and we’re still eating the leftovers from that one so we volunteered to help here which is a good thing,” Duliakis said.

In addition to serving meals, the group of volunteers also spent the day delivering 177 meals door to door to families in need. Leftovers from the dinner were shared with the Soup Kitchen, City of Refuge and The Ark.