Thousands of people expected for Thursday’s annual meal
DULUTH, Minn — It’s a job that some people may not like. For others it’s the exact opposite John McDonald, a chef at Mid Coast Catering is one person who enjoys potato peeling.
McDonald said, “There’s something Zen about peeling potatoes, you know, it just makes the time fly by.
So, if you enjoy peeling potatoes or enjoy helping others, the DECC kitchen was the place for you. Nearly 2,000 pounds of potatoes were peeled and sliced to make real, home-made mashed potatoes for the 6,000 to 7,000 people expected on Thursday.
The organizer of the DECC event is Monica Hendrickson from the College of St. Scholastica and she described the events of the day.
“Today, it’s potatoes, potatoes and stuffing and everything made with love, a lot of love and lots of butter. We’ve gone through a lot of butter, ” said Hendrickson.
More than two dozen volunteers, many from Minnesota Power and others from Mid Coast Catering were peeling the potatoes on Tuesday.
This is the 33rd year for this meal and there is a lot of food to cook. Hendrickson said, “We cook for three days straight and everyone pitches in.”
The effort is led by the College of St. Scholastica with donations of cash, time and food coming from throughout the community to make Thanksgiving a little better for a lot of people.
Hendrickson summed up the reason for the effort that’s put into this one meal, “for us it’s getting kind of back to our roots, of really having that home-cooked meal like if you went to your grandmas or your moms.”