For the fourth year in a row, the chefs of Burlington’s Farmhouse Group will spend this week in the kitchen cooking up a different menu from their normal fare: Thanksgiving for about 1,500. Their efforts will help a number of Burlington nonprofits and community groups (see list below) serve free meals to those in need on Wednesday and Thursday, November 26 and 27.
Since 2022, employees from the group — which owns the Farmhouse Tap & Grill in Burlington and Williston, El Cortijo Taqueria and Pascolo Ristorante in Burlington, and Guild Tavern in South Burlington — have prepared turkey dinners for local nonprofits to serve or distribute, with the help of volunteers and donations from Farmhouse’s distributor partners.
“We have sensed an elevated need in the community this year, more than ever, and encourage everyone to pitch in in their own way,” Farmhouse Group owner Jed Davis said.
Among the nonprofits that will distribute meals from the Farmhouse Group is Feeding Champlain Valley, which reopened its renovated 228 North Winooski Avenue facility in October. Culinary manager Justin Pflanzer said the dinner his team will serve the day before Thanksgiving will also include 300 servings of green bean casserole donated by City Market.
Other restaurants are pitching in, too. Burlington’s King Street Laundry will serve a free takeout meal donated by Waterworks Food + Drink in Winooski on Wednesday afternoon during free weekly laundry service for people experiencing homelessness. “We figured, people are here, let’s feed them,” said Andrew Christiansen, who co-owns the laundry and is director of the nonprofit Vermont Community Wash and Learn.
For those who would like to contribute to neighbors in need, Feeding Champlain Valley is accepting donations of turkeys and Thanksgiving sides through Wednesday, November 26, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The following list of free meals in Burlington is based on one compiled by Maggie Piela-Fein, University of Vermont master’s of social work intern at the Fletcher Free Library.
Free Meals on Wednesday, November 26
- Feeding Champlain Valley at 228 North Winooski Avenue will serve a sit-down meal from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- Fletcher Free Library at 235 College Street will offer takeout meals from 1 to 6 p.m.
- Food Not Bombs will serve a meal at City Hall Park from 1 to 2 p.m.
- King Street Laundry at 72 King Street will offer takeout meals to unhoused community members from 1 to 3 p.m.
- The Salvation Army at 64 Main Street will serve a sit-down meal with takeout available from 5 to 6 p.m.
- Spectrum Youth & Family Services will offer takeout meals at 177 Pearl Street from 5 to 6 p.m. for anyone ages 14 to 24.
Free Meals on Thursday, November 27
- COTS at 95 North Avenue will serve a sit-down meal for adults 18 and older at 12:30 p.m.
- Fletcher Free Library at 235 College Street will offer takeout meals from noon to 4 p.m. and on Friday, November 28, starting at 10 a.m., while supplies last.
- Food Not Bombs will serve a meal at City Hall Park from 1 to 2 p.m.
- Turning Point Center at 179 South Winooski Avenue, Suite 301, will serve a sit-down meal for all in recovery at 1 p.m.
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