St. Vincent celebrates 40th anniversary of holiday dinners

A popular Thanksgiving tradition that has provided holiday meals with the trimmings for the neediest of families in the Baton Rouge area for the past 40 years is expanding for the second consecutive year.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has added McKinley Alumni Center to its already established sites at the Raising Cane’s River Center, the St. Vincent dining room in the downtown area and St. Gerard Majella Church in Baton Rouge, which was added a year ago. 

St. Vincent CEO Michael Acaldo is expecting to serve a combined 3,000 meals at the four sites. 

“For us it is an opportunity to make a tremendous impact,” said Acaldo. “This year turkeys are up 70 percent over last year so I know and recognize there will be a lot of people who are not going to be able to afford to put a wonderful meal on their family’s table, which is why what we are doing is so important.”

The Unified Jewish Congregation of Baton Rouge is continuing its long-standing tradition of donating the turkeys. In 2021 the organization donated 113 turkeys but this year the total goal is 150, a target Acaldo believes the organization is well on its way of achieving.

“What is so beautiful about that is it’s a wonderful expression of love and care for the most vulnerable of our community,” Acaldo said. “They are helping us to reach families experiencing poverty and maybe experiencing homelessness. It is remarkable what they are doing, and it all really helps us in reaching people in need. It also helps to make sure we do not have to deny anybody.”

He said the donated turkeys are critical because it takes the burden off of worrying where the turkeys would come from.

“Sometimes you can’t measure the impact you have on a human life. It cannot be  measured financially; it’s priceless,” he noted of the commitment of the Unified Jewish Congregation.

Acaldo said 200 volunteers will assist in serving and cooking the meals as well as distribution. He said the meals for the St. Vincent dining room will be cooked on site but the rest of the meals, which include turkey, green beans, cornbread dressing, salad and dessert, will be cooked at the River Center beginning at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. He said the meals will be distributed to McKinley, St. Gerard, the needy in the Hispanic community and other sites.

Acaldo said a request to McKinley officials to host a dinner was warmly received. He said the goal was to put a location on the south side of Baton Rouge, which is one area the organization was missing

“They were so excited about being a part of this,” Acaldo said. “It is a beautiful facility.”

“Whether it’s the Catholic Church or the Jewish congregation, or whoever it is that comes together to volunteer, it is remarkable to see everybody coming together to do a good things for people who may not have a traditional Thanksgiving meal,” he added.

The 40-year tradition dates to a steamy, July afternoon in 1982 when St. Vincent opened its first dining room in a tiny shotgun house on 21st Street in Baton Rouge.  Ten homeless individuals stepped through the doors to enjoy a hot-cooked meal, unaware they were the prologue of history.

Acaldo said  that in 1982 St. Vincent served about 200 meals at Thanksgiving.

“To come from there to where we are now is a remarkable testament to the founders of the society,” Acaldo said. 

Acaldo noted with pride that since that first afternoon, St. Vincent has never missed a day in serving meals at its dining room, even through storms, floods and pandemics. 

Under Acaldo’s guidance for the past 33 years, St. Vincent has expanded to where a year ago a combined 215,000 meals were served through the dining room, Bishop Ott Sweet Dreams Shelter and the Plank Road Shelter.

Acaldo said by the end of 2022 St. Vincent will have served a record 250,000 meals.

“What we found last year people had more difficulty getting (to the dining room),” Acaldo said “This year we made sure people knew how to get to us, and we made sure St. Gerard was open the full year.”

He said inflation plus the runaway increase in food costs are making it difficult for people to feed their families.

“We believe that trend will continue and if so more people who are vulnerable will be impacted,” Acaldo said. 

He also paid tribute to Bishop Stanley J. Ott for his dedication and commitment to St. Vincent. He said Bishop Ott’s support helped make the dream of what is the current dining room come alive. 

Dinners are available for dine-in at the St. Vincent dining room, the River Center, St. Gerard and the McKinley Center. Drive-thru meals are also available at the River Center.

The dining room will be open from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m, the River Center from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., St. Gerard from 11 a.m. to whenever the last meal is served and McKinley from 11 a.m.

“Thanksgiving is a fun time of year for us but at the end of the day we are exhausted,” Acaldo said. “But you reflect back and smile at the impact you made. 

“When you hear those words that ‘I was not going to have a real meal on Thanksgiving Day,’ it really touches you. Whether you do a few meals or whatever the case may be, it is always important.”