Columbia’s 29th Community Thanksgiving Meal Set for Nov. 26

Columbia’s Fifth Street Christian Church, at 401 N. Fifth St., will host its 29th annual “A Time to Give Thanks” meal this Thanksgiving Day. Powerhouse Community Development has organized the free community meal every year since it began.

When and Where

This year’s meal runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26 — Thanksgiving Day — inside the church. Powerhouse Community Development, the Columbia nonprofit that organizes the event each year, says this year’s “A Time to Give Thanks” includes both a sit-down meal and food boxes for neighbors who need one, according to the Columbia Missourian.

Twenty-nine years is a long run for any community tradition. It puts the Fifth Street meal among the area’s longest-standing holiday fixtures, predating many of the churches, civic groups and businesses that now help host or support it each fall.

Where Else to Find Help Around the Holiday

Fifth Street’s meal is one of several ways Boone, Howard and Cooper county neighbors can find a hot plate or a box of groceries this time of year. The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri, which anchors much of the region’s food-assistance network, also delivers boxes directly to the doors of neighbors who can’t make it to a pantry themselves, and Columbia’s Voluntary Action Center is lining up holiday sponsors for 1,000 families this winter.

Readers who want to volunteer, confirm a detail about this year’s meal, or ask about a food box should reach out to Powerhouse Community Development directly. The Times wasn’t able to independently confirm a separate food-box pickup date or donation drop-off window in time for this item — see the editor’s note for details.