Turkeys Out, Hams In For CSS Thanksgiving Buffet At DECC

Supply chain issues are to blame for sidelining the turkeys.

DULUTH, Minn. — Imagine Thanksgiving without a turkey and only ham. Well, that is the reality for this year’s Thanksgiving Day Buffet at the DECC.

Organizers say supply chain issues are to blame for pushing the birds to the curb.

The traditional turkey buffet has been put on by the College of St. Scholastica for more than 30 years, serving thousands of free meals on Thanksgiving Day.

But commercial turkeys are hard to come by right now, especially when serving up to 7,000 turkey dinners on one day at the DECC.

“It’s almost becoming comical. All l you can do is laugh. We had some of our committee calling out to places in Michigan, North and South Dakota. We found some but we could not figure out how to get them here safely because of course its turkey, it needs to be refrigerator or frozen. We tried, we tried for about a week in a half to two weeks, and then we just had to make the decision we just have to have food,” said Monica Hendrickson, committee chair of the buffet.

Hendrickson also can’t find enough green beans for a casserole side dish, which was planning to be a new item on the menu.  But fresh mashed potatoes are coming back now that the pandemic is passed and volunteers can huddle together in a kitchen to peel all the potatoes.

There also will be corn, rolls, and cake — all for free to keep the tradition of giving alive for the holiday.

“Really, the message we have is we’re just thankful we can do this, we’re thankful for all of our sponsors and donors that continue to contribute to this, and you know it takes a village to do this event and it’s great to be back in person,” Hendrickson said.

600 volunteers are needed, especially on Thanksgiving Day, to help serve 700 people every 30 minutes. It costs $35,000 to put the event on.

If you’d like to volunteer or help with costs, click here.