Where to go for a free holiday meal

Last year, the holidays were a stressful and depressing time for some families as many were forced to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas alone due to the dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fortunately, to help make this Thanksgiving holiday easier and less stressful, many local restaurants and businesses are handing out free Thanksgiving dinners to community members.

BROCK’S FOOD AND DRINK

James Brock, the owner of Brock’s Food and Drink, has been giving away free Thanksgiving meals for the past five years, continuing the tradition for 2021.

“Every year at Thanksgiving we feed about 1,000 people for free,” Brock said. “About 500 we deliver to. We have 100 volunteers. We start cooking the week before and stay up all night Wednesday.”

The meal will include turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls. The Thanksgiving meals will be available through a makeshift drive-thru from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 25, at Brock’s Food and Drink, located at 4021 Acton Highway.

“It’s real effective; it’s quick. We get to service a lot of people,” Brock added. “I'm very fortunate and blessed to be able to do it. Everybody is so appreciative too. You can’t have a better Thanksgiving; it makes Thanksgiving worth it. We close the restaurant and just serve the community for the day.”

If interested in free meal delivery call Jan Brock at 682-558-9895.

MATTRESSVILLE

For the first time ever, Mattressville in Granbury will be handing out 150 12-pound frozen turkeys at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20, in the Stonewater Church parking lot, located at 911 E. U.S. Highway 377 #4.

The Mattressville store in Granbury opened in May this year. David Davis, the owner of Mattressville, has two other locations (Stephenville and Brownwood), where he had previously given away turkeys for Thanksgiving.

Davis wanted to incorporate his Thanksgiving tradition at the Granbury location and enlisted the help of the staff at Stumpy’s Lakeside Grill, who assisted Davis in purchasing 150 turkeys.

“When we opened our Stephenville store first, we just started giving back to the community, and this is one of the ways that we can give back. We call it the Great Turkey Giveaway,” Davis said. “When we opened the store in May of this year, we already had it on our calendar that we were going to be giving away turkeys this fall.”

The turkeys will be handed out in a drive-thru format at the church until all 150 turkeys are gone.

“Our plan is to do more next year,” Davis added.

For more information, visit the Granbury Mattressville Facebook page.

Several other local organizations and nonprofits are giving away free Thanksgiving meals this year, and are listed below by date:

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17

⦁ Hood County Senior Center will deliver an additional Thanksgiving meal to its Meals on Wheels recipients. The meal will include turkey with gravy and dressing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, a roll and a dessert.

THURSDAY, NOV. 18

⦁ Hammond’s B-B-Q in Glen Rose will be serving a free Thanksgiving lunch from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. located at 1106 NE Big Bend Trail — drive-thru or pick up. The meal includes ham, turkey, dressing, gravy, green beans, mashed potatoes, roll, cranberry sauce and apple cobbler. Outdoor seating is also available.

⦁ People Helping People will be handing out free gift cards for individuals to purchase turkeys, along with a bag containing sides from noon to 3 p.m., at 306 Kings Plaza in Granbury. A limited number of turkeys and sides will be available.

FRIDAY, NOV. 19

⦁ Rancho Brazos Community Center will have meals to go in a drive-thru format from 6-8 p.m. located at 3701 Sundown Trail. The meal will include turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing and more.

THURSDAY, NOV. 25

⦁ American Legion Post 491 will be serving a Thanksgiving lunch from 2-4 p.m. located at 3409 Davis Road. The meal will include turkey, ham and several side dishes.

⦁ Brazos River Food Bank will be serving Thanksgiving meals from 3 p.m.-6 p.m. at 2201 Mitchell Bend Highway. Individuals can reserve meals by messaging the Brazos River Food Bank Facebook page.

TO BE DETERMINED

⦁ The Granbury VFW 7835 will have a Thanksgiving meal with time and details to be determined. Veterans can call the post at 817-573-9350 for details.

Neighborhood pantries are also accepting donations of Thanksgiving meal items throughout the month.

“Granbury is such a giving community and the pandemic made it hard for some people to do that,” said Dusti Scovel, executive director of Mission Granbury. “We all felt isolated from each other. It’s heartwarming and healing to see groups preparing special meals and Thanksgiving boxes again. The joy (of) coming together to do meaningful work is almost palatable.”