Community Dinner Table returns after holidays and 100,000 meals served

BLACKFOOT — In December, the Community Dinner Table (CDT) celebrated serving its 100,000th meal to dinner guests in Bingham County. To celebrate, the CDT partnered with the Blackfoot Movie Mill and gave theater tickets to all in attendance to watch “Mufasa” on Jan. 11.

As a branch of the Blackfoot Community Pantry and a 501(c)3 organization, the CDT gives more than 7,550 pounds of food to 150 families each month. Every Tuesday from November to March, a hot meal is served at the Jason Lee Memorial United Methodist Church. The dinners are cooked and served by a coalition of 22 local churches and business groups. The initiative was started 17 years ago by Ron Thompson (a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and Lee Hammett (a Methodist), who wanted to form a group that went beyond specific religions and helped the community as a whole.

“We have a strict rule of no evangelizing, no proselytizing, no trying to convert one another,” said Reverend Gay Jeffery, one of the founding members. To Jeffery, there’s so much more that unites individuals than divides them, and sharing a meal highlights that.

While one arm of the organization (the pantry) helps supplement groceries at home for those in need, on the other side, the CDT makes it so individuals don’t have to cook one night of the week. They even provide an annual turkey dinner.

“If it weren’t for the food pantry, I wouldn’t be able to make ends meet,” said Blackfoot native Avery Hale. “My spouse picks up the food basket, and we came for Thanksgiving dinner this year because we had nowhere to go.”

Jackie Young, the CDT Board President, says there are many opportunities to serve the community, including joining with a group to prepare a meal, helping with cleanup and serving at the church facility, and preparing and distributing food weekly or at the Christmas food baskets.

“It’s a really humane way to approach feeding your neighbor,” said Travis Thompson, who attended his first dinner in January. “Everyone is struggling, and here you have a group with no questions asked, inviting you in to share a meal, and that’s all.”

The CDT is associated with larger state and national organizations like Feeding America and the Idaho Food Bank. According to the state food bank, there are an estimated 220,990 food-insecure people in Idaho, and 67,590 of them are children. This 2022 data found that eastern Idaho makes up over 11 percent of that number. Meanwhile, the CDT feeds more than 6,500 people during the winter each year.

Volunteers often peak around the holidays because so many families ask how to help. Still, work continues year-round, and help is needed at other CDT events such as the Tater Trot (held in October each year), the summer picnic in July, and an annual church clean-up in May. The CDT also collaborates with the Rotary Club for a “food feud” contest between middle schools, and Grove City Gardens donates 5,000 ears of corn in September. The Blackfoot Heritage Sixth Grade School donated 250 turkeys and $17,000 in December as part of its “Coins for Turkeys” fundraiser, where classes compete to raise the most money.

At the pantry, the CDT gives one food box per household to those struggling with food insecurity. Distribution happens at 245 West Sexton in Blackfoot on Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., and dinner is served at Jason Lee UMC on Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with a craft for kids. Anyone needing a meal or a friend is invited to attend as the CDT builds towards its next 100,000 plates.

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