CABOT — Heather and Dane Moore take the traditional family Thanksgiving feast a few steps farther and welcome the entire community for dinner.
Heather said she has a servant’s heart. After she and her husband, Dane, volunteered at a community Thanksgiving dinner in Lonoke, they decided that it would be a great thing to bring to Cabot.
“We both got that feeling and looked at each other and said, ‘We need to do this in Cabot,’” Heather said. “We prayed about it and put our heads together.”
This will be the couple’s third year to hold the Cabot Community Thanksgiving Feast. The goal is to hold the dinner at a different church each year, and this year, it will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Cabot First United Methodist Church at 2003 South Pine St.
“We are an independent ministry,” Dane said. “We aren’t affiliated with any church of organization.”
The feast is open to the entire community, and it is free because, Moore said, the community steps up to donate food and monetary donations.
“We get donations from Kroger, Walmart, Knight’s, and Grandpa’s Barbecue in Cabot smokes the turkeys,” Heather said.
The first year, Heather said the couple, along with other volunteers, served 316 people. Dane said that first year had a good turnout despite the driving rain. The second year they served 463.
“We are prepared for about 600 this year,” Heather said. “It’s not just for people who can’t afford it, but it’s also for those who are alone. People come who would otherwise be alone, and that saddens my heart.”
However, she said that she is happy to not only fill those people’s belly, but to also feed their souls.
There will also be deliveries for those who are housebound and carry out for those who don’t want to eat at the church.
Heather said the couple’s four children also work at the feast.
“Our daughter Morgan (Moore) is 18, and she will be providing childcare for those who help serve and have children,” Heather said, “and Michael (Launius, 17) and Jack (Moore, 14) will pack to-go boxes for deliveries, and our nine-year-old (Allie Moore) will also help.”
Heather said the family wants to make sure no one spends Thanksgiving alone, and the goal is to provide a relaxing, homelike atmosphere with a hot, home-cooked holiday meal.
“We have senior citizens who come because they don’t want to cook a big meal just for one or two people,” Heather said.
The Cabot Kroger location has a box at the store for donations of nonperishable food items.
To learn more, sign up to volunteer or donate, visit the website at cabotfeast.com.
Staff writer Jeanni Brosius can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or jbrosius@arkansasonline.com.