Aaron Brassfied wasn't quite sure what to expect six years ago when he organized a free Thanksgiving meal for folks in and around Blytheville who normally would not have one.
Food was gathered for hundreds of meals. The names of people who would most benefit from a free holiday meal were gathered. The Mississippi County Senior Center had donated use of its facilities, including a large industrial kitchen. Word had been spread and volunteers recruited to serve and deliver meals. The wait had begun. Would people take advantage of this new community service?
In a word, yes.
The free meal was an instant hit in Blytheville. Roughly 700 meals were prepared and delivered or served at the senior center. From the start, the Community Thanksgiving Dinner has been part of the fabric of volunteerism in the community. While it was considered a "new" program by many, it was a reboot by Brassfield of a similar meal service program his parents organized three decades ago.
"My parents did this 30-something years ago," said Brassfield, before his father took a job in Kansas and the family moved from Mississippi County. When he returned as an adult, Brassfield wanted to see if the free meal program would fit into modern-day Blytheville. He was amazed at the interest that first year.
"It was very humbling for me," Brassfield said. "There were a lot of people who appreciated it. We just wanted to give people a chance to look forward to the holidays again."
"We just wanted to let you know we appreciate you," Brassfield and volunteers told people as they delivered or served the meals.
What started out as that small, calculated first meal has grown to include Osceola and Gosnell. Civic groups got involved with the free meal program. Mayors in other cities and villages within the county took notice and wanted to involve their communities.
This year, Brassfield said, every portion of Mississippi County will be covered by the Community Thanksgiving Dinner, from Birdsong and Joiner in the south, to the western portion that includes Leachville to the northern edge where volunteers will deliver meals in Yarbro.
Brassfield's crew will prepare 1,000 meals as it has nearly every year, then use available resources to get more food on the fly when demand looks to outweigh supply. "Anything above that comes from people donating more food on the day and/or us going to buy more food as supplies run low," he said.
Brassfield and his team still set up shop at the senior center on Thanksgiving morning. The group consists of volunteers who help every step of the way prior to the meals being served through the unpopular cleanup duty to those who eat their meal at home a bit early and then swing by to help at the senior center for an hour or two, handing out meals or helping out in the kitchen.
Last year, the program served 1,310 plates in Blytheville, Gosnell, Osceola and Leachville. The effort was undertaken by a record number of volunteers to the program, Brassfield told the Courier News at the conclusion of the annual meal service. He said roughly 55 volunteers were on hand at Blytheville, a figure that did not include the volunteers at Osceola and Leachville.
Courier News archives indicate the program served 25-30 plates at the Blytheville Senior Center in 2015, while 110 meals were picked up and carried out from the service center and about 850 were delivered to homes within the Blytheville and Gosnell city limits. The roughly 325 remaining plates were delivered to residents in Osceola and Leachville.
The program utilizes local community groups such as Meals on Wheels and the Food Pantry to identify those who may be best served by a free Thanksgiving meal. Other names are provided by local churches, civic groups and individuals who are aware of someone needing a meal.
The team can always use help, Brassfield said. Monetary donations help buy food and supplies needed to prepare and serve the meals. And more volunteers are always welcome. Those interested in donating, volunteering or helping out next Thursday may call Brassfield at (870) 623-3583 or (870) 623-4121 or go straight to the senior center that day. Donations may also be mailed to PO Box 1921 in Blytheville or directly to h,i.s. Ministries, 5376 North State Highway, Armorel, AR, 72315.
While Brassfield represents h.i.s. Ministries, he said the annual team of volunteers includes people with various backgrounds and a diverse range of religious and political views. "It's not just one person, one church," he said, adding that he is seeing "more and more people from all walks of life" reach out to help.
Next week, Brassfield and his team will undertake an aggressive expansion, but it is nothing new. "It's not just Blytheville anymore," he said. "We have grown exponentially every year. And every year the area we serve has grown. We don't turn anyone away."
Brassfield said part of his vision for the program is to bring people together in their communities. He pointed to the wide array of emotion felt by many during and after the presidential election has tugged neighbors apart and the Thanksgiving meals are a way to pause and reflect on connecting with people in a positive environment, setting their differences aside for at least one day.
He added that the volunteers demonstrate that unity and that in itself is a source of satisfaction as well as the engine that keeps the meal service powering forward amid constant expansion of need.
The community would be a better place, Brassfield says, if more people gave just a little more of themselves to others. That is what keeps the founder of the Community Thanksgiving Dinner going strong year after year.
"If we could pick an hour in a week or a couple hours in a month just to help somebody, how much greater would the community be?," he said.