It’s not easy preparing a Thanksgiving feast for 900 Arlington families. But with 150-plus volunteers and a spirit of gratitude and determination, Social Justice and Outreach Minister Sally Diaz-Wells continues a ministry that’s lasted a quarter century.
Diaz-Wells leads the Thanksgiving Build-a-Basket program at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Arlington. For 25 years the program has extended an American tradition to families in need. Many parishes and other entities throughout the diocese offer similar Thanksgiving meal programs, including the Knights of Columbus Arlington Council No. 2473, Catholic Charities Christ House in Alexandria, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg, and Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Vienna.
“Thanksgiving is very important to us. It has always been important to our culture here in the United States,” Diaz-Wells said. Many families are newcomers to the country, “so we wanted to be able to offer them classic Thanksgiving meals, so that they can become more enmeshed in our American culture.”
In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, parish volunteers spend four full days registering families for the build-a-basket program. Many volunteers speak different languages, such as Spanish, French, Farsi and Arabic. But language is never a requirement. “And if you can’t speak any other language, but you can speak kindness, that’s all we want,” Diaz-Wells said.
Items in a Thanksgiving package include a frozen turkey, bag of potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn, stuffing, cornbread, beans, rice and pie. Halal options, an Islamic dietary requirement, are also available, such as swapping a chicken for a turkey.
Parishioner financial donations fund the purchase of the food items. But the recent increase in inflation makes grocery shopping a challenge. “Last I checked, turkeys are 40% more this year, and almost everything’s a little more pricey,” Diaz-Wells said.
The parish packs the Thanksgiving baskets — actually large bags — the weekend before Thanksgiving. After each Mass, a flood of parishioners comes through the parish hall, packing several hundred bags with each of the food items. “This way, people see the devotion and the generosity they’ve offered — it’s right in front of them,” she said.
During the pandemic, the parish began a “trunk-pop,” drive-thru method of distributing meals, which continues today. Families drive up, pop their trunk, and parish young adults and teens fill the cars with a Thanksgiving meal. For those who are elderly or have mobility or transportation issues, volunteers drive the meals to their doorstep.
The majority of the families who receive a Thanksgiving meal also utilize the parish’s year-round food pantry. In the wake of the recent government shutdown, Diaz-Wells said she expects some residents who have been furloughed to participate in the program. “We’re really concerned about the fact that we have so many federal employees that are furloughed … for more than a month,” she said. “We have that going on in our parish.”
With such a robust ministry, “every year it’s like the loaves and the fishes,” she said. “Every year, I sit there and go, ‘Lord, I don’t know if we’re going to have enough’ … and then it always comes together.”
