Students enjoyed a turkey meal and apple cider at last year’s Thanksgiving dinner. Courtesy of Facebook.com/UHartDining
We are approaching Thanksgiving time, which means our mouths have already started salivating for turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.
Whether or not you are heading home for Thanksgiving break, the University is hosting a special Thanksgiving dinner in GSU South Cafe next Thursday, Nov. 21 at 5:30 p.m.
Aramark, the school’s food service, has cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for the students at the University of Hartford for the last four years.
Attendance has risen year after year, says Aramark official Michael Pieksza. “There were 225 people last year, the year before that 160.”
Aramark is expecting their largest crowd yet on the fifth anniversary of this spectacular event. Pieksza estimates the attendance at 250.
Clubs, organizations and classes are encouraged to attend the event in groups, but students are also invited to attend individually or with a small group of friends.
For every occupied table at the event, Aramark is going to donate one turkey to a local food shelter, with the donation being given in the names of those at the table.
According to Pieksa and Sharon Mumley, another employee at Aramark, there will also a canned food drive at the event. Attendees are encouraged to bring a canned good to the dinner and support Aramark’s initiative for Thanksgiving philanthropy.
Traditional foods such as turkey and vegetables such as glazed carrots will be served at the dinner, along with artichoke dip and bread.
“The food was delicious when I went last year,” says Lee Peters, Vice President of Student Affairs. “The event was really fun, too. It was nice to see so many groups of students come out and enjoy the special meal.”
Aramark respects the needs for some students to meet special requirements such as gluten-free, vegetarian or kosher diets. However, Pieksva notes that although Aramark has offered these alternative options at the Thanksgiving dinner the past two years, no one has taken advantage of it. Students overwhelmingly opt for the traditional turkey dish.
“We planned for eight vegetarians last year, but no one at the dinner requested a vegetarian option,” said Pieksza.
The UHart Dining Facebook page has pictures from last year’s event.
Students can chow down on this decadent dinner for just a meal swipe. However, students are not the only ones who can attend the event; faculty and staff are more than welcome to join the fun by volunteering to help prepare the food.
Volunteers are still needed from 4:30-7:30 p.m. the night of the event to help prepare and serve the Thanksgiving dinner. Faculty and staff who help out obviously get to enjoy the meal themselves. Those interested in volunteering can contact Mumley at mumley-shannon@aramark.com.
Since Aramark needs to know how much food to prepare, students must pre-register to attend the event. You can sign up by emailing Mumley at mumley@hartford.edu or stopping by the ID Office.