AMHERST — Anticipating enjoyment in both the food and the company at the annual Thanksgiving meal at the Amherst Survival Center, longtime volunteer Sherry Allan was among the first in line at the Sunderland Road site late Wednesday morning.
“I love the Survival Center and what it stands for, about what they offer people, particularly those who are homeless,” Allan said. “I find it beyond love.”
After filling her plate with many of the traditional Thanksgiving staples and sitting at one of the tables decorated for the occasion, Brenda Peavy of Hadley observed that the center has been a godsend for her since moving to the area from Albany, New York.
“I’m here quite often for lunch, for the company, the encouragement and the community,” Peavy said.
On this day, after enjoying her meal, she had the leftovers on the plate covered in tinfoil so she could bring the food home.
“It was excellent: the stuffing, the turkey, all of it,” Peavy said, adding that she only laments they didn’t have collard greens, which were served as part of her upbringing in the South.
The November community meal offered a mix of conventional dishes, like turkey, stuffing, potato and squash, alongside Indigenous foods, salad and drinks, and various desserts, like pies and cookies.
Interim Executive Director Carleen Basler said the center’s staff and volunteers kept the basics, with a focus on New England fare along with Native items like Three Sisters Soup, wild rice and succotash.
“It’s important to make sure we’re honoring the land we’re sitting on,” Basler said.
This year all food was served inside, with people having the option to eat in the dining room or an adjacent room used for storage, or to take their meals to go.
At the noontime opening of the doors, Sarah Usher, one of three greeters, shouted out, “Happy Thanksgiving.” Then Usher, joined by Christine Sonnhalter and Elsie Kares, welcomed each guest individually, taking down each person’s hometown. There were many identifying themselves as Amherst residents or from nearby towns, though one guests said he was from Scituate.
As lines grew long and many of the tables were filled, a third room had been set aside for the Holiday Gift Program, in which families will be able to get new books, games and winter accessories. Already, the center has distributed nearly 400 winter coats, said Miranda Groux, the center’s resource coordinator.
Groux also organized the music, starting with Whisper in Mid-Zone, a jazz Indian fusion trio made up of Jim Matus, Michel Moushabeck and Robert Markey, who played for the first hour, followed by Raven Silvermoon playing North American Native flute music for the next hour.
Having a place to come together for the holidays is important, said Gale Kuhn of Montague, who arrived with her husband, Tim Van Egmond.
“It’s community sharing with community,” Kuhn said. “It’s very nice.”
“I look forward to the good company,” Van Egmond said.
John Szramowski of Amherst, an Army veteran who served from 1968 to 1971, said he dropped by for the meal.
“I just came to have something to eat,” Szramowski said. But he noted that the center was busier than a normal day. “There’s a lot of people here, so the portions will be small.”
Though he may have been concerned, those who organized said there would be plenty for the 150 to 200 people to put as much as they needed to on their plates, and assuming there would be leftovers, were encouraging people to pack additional meals before leaving.
“There will be enough for people to eat here, and to also take home for their families,” Usher said.
In fact, Richard Dresser of Hadley, who said he has come to the Amherst Survival Center for more than 20 years but hadn’t been able to get to the Thanksgiving meal the past couple of years, brought two bags, one in which to put food and the other in which to place drinks. He also would be bringing home flowers for his fiancee.
“I like to talk to people and I like to let people know how good these people are here to run this organization,” Dresser said. “They do a lot.”