By Jackson Stocker ‘27
For the past 5 years, on Thanksgiving day, Thanksgiving dinner has been served in Quarryville to anyone who needs food, community and a place to belong.
Kim and Steve Burn organize a dinner for those who need food for their family, regardless of circumstance. Anyone and everyone is invited to come to the Daily Grind and eat free Thanksgiving dinner.
This dinner comes out of the Burn’s family tradition. Mr. Burn says, “We used to host big family dinners, and would have an open invitation for anyone that needed a place to be on Thanksgiving.”
They said that they are grateful to have a place like the Daily Grind to hold this event, allowing them to continue to host, but on a bigger scale.
One really big misunderstanding about this event is that it’s paid catering for Thanksgiving. This is a free dinner that anyone who needs community and food for Thanksgiving can come to.
It’s not just for those without financial resources. “You could be a millionaire, but if you don’t have anybody to eat dinner with, what good is your Thanksgiving?” said Mrs. Burn.
This all started back in 2018 when Mrs. Burn and some people from her church decided to provide free dinner to those who needed it. This was intended to be a one-time event.
However, in 2021, Mrs. Burn decided to host the dinner again, but this time without any church affiliation. Her goal was to create an annual event of neighbors feeding neighbors in the Quarryville community.
In some of the past years, it’s been a really small event. But Mrs. Burn says she’s very happy that it’s getting more popular, with regulars coming back every year.
“It’s kind of special to see some of the same people every year knowing that they just don’t have anywhere else to go,” said Valerie Stocker, a volunteer who has been attending this event for the past 4 years.
With the relocation to the Daily Grind in August, event coordinators hope that people will still come and get their free dinner, talk to the volunteers and warm up from the bitter fall cold.