Culver’s third annual Thanksgiving meal a success

Thanksgiving Day is often a time for friends and family to gather and give thanks and the same was true at the third annual Culver’s Thanksgiving meal. Owners Curt and Mandy Herbig once again welcomed community members to the restaurant for a free turkey dinner with plenty of sides and even more desserts.

“When we first moved here, we figured we would donate our time to a shelter in Des Moines but since Culver’s is closed on Thanksgiving, if there is a need in Newton, we thought, ‘Let’s just throw one in Newton, teach the kids something and help out the community,’” Curt Herbig said.

Long before the doors opened at 11 a.m. to the first diners, volunteers were hard at work preparing a meal to feed close to 300 people. From people volunteering to cook the turkey to a woman donating 10 pies she baked herself and the 30 to 40 volunteers who came on Thanksgiving day to serve, a strong sense of community was evident when preparing for the meal.

“The outpouring of our volunteers was crazy. We had people that didn’t even sign up that came in and wanted to help,” Curt Herbig said. “I think at one time we had 30 volunteers that came in to help. That is great that many people showed up and wanted to help.”

Along with turkey, the volunteers served mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, cole slaw, dinner rolls and a wide variety of desserts including several types of pies, cookies and brownies. The turkeys were purchased with a gift card donated by Walmart with community members donating to cover additional costs.

The meal not only serves as a way to feed those in the community but also a fundraiser for the Newton Salvation Army.

“There were quite a few people that came in and donated quite a bit of money, it was very nice to see,” Curt Herbig said.

It also brought in several people traveling on Interstate 80 who got quite the surprise when they were expected to order a burger and fries.

“There were a lot of travelers that came in. They saw the cars in the parking lot and thought we were open,” Herbig said. “Those people come in thinking what do we do? But all of the volunteers were very welcoming, telling them to come get a turkey dinner on us. Most people that came in off of the interstate, not even from Iowa, donated quite a bit of money to help out. That was nice to see, a lot of people who care.”

With three successful years under the belt, Herbig sees the Thanksgiving meal continuing many years into the future.

“No matter how many people we serve, we will still do it,” Herbig said. “I don’t care if it is five or 500, we will serve.”

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com