Casey Johnson, co-owner of Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota, and his family have been clearing out the dealership’s showroom and feeding the community for more than a decade.

“Seventeen years ago we were sitting around as a family watching football and we said ‘you know, there’s probably something better that we can be doing with our time on Thanksgiving day,'” said Johnson. “We brainstormed and decided that we were going to clear out the showroom and feed a meal to the community.”

The first year, the Johnson family served 350 meals. In 2024, more than 2,600 meals were served.

To date, more than 18,000 individual meals have been served. That includes some that were delivered to the homebound as well as to those who cannot get to the dealership, including law enforcement and emergency room staff at UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center.

-Messenger file photo
A group of guests, among the many who enjoyed the day Thursday, have Thanksgiving dinner during the 2024 Community Thanksgiving Dinner at Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota.

“It’s very gratifying,” said Johnson. “Most importantly, through all those meals that we’ve delivered to the homebound and people who cannot get out, we realized that there was a lot of need. Seven years ago we decided to look into Meals on Wheels and now we run it through the dealership. We deliver 50 meals a day, Monday through Friday throughout the entire year. All of that came to be because of the Thanksgiving celebration. One of the greatest joys of doing it was realizing that we could extend the Thanksgiving meal to become an everyday occurrence for those seniors that need a meal every day.”

For Thursday’s Thanksgiving feast, the Johnson family is planning to serve thousands once again both in the showroom and with delivered meals. But Johnson said their family isn’t the only ones feeding the community as more than 120 volunteers assemble each year to wrap utensils, serve potatoes, and slice hundreds of pies.

“Every year without us asking, we get about 120 volunteers that just show up,” said Johnson. “They show up here and out at Iowa Central at the culinary school with Chef Michael. All of these volunteers could also be at home celebrating the holiday with their families, but instead they’re choosing to spend it with us helping out and helping to feed the community. It’s very gratifying and a beautiful experience.”

Iowa Central Community College culinary students and Chef Michael Hirst, the college’s culinary arts program coordinator, prepare and cook the massive community dinner which Hirst described as an “excellent training tool for the students.”

Hirst begins ordering the necessary food and ingredients during the summer with preparations ramping up more than a month before Thanksgiving. In the days before the dinner, students are preparing vegetables, prepping main dishes, and putting finishing touches on desserts.

“Chef Michael and Iowa Central are a key part in helping us to prepare the meal,” said Johnson. “The culinary kids do all of that work for us.”

The dealership staff and volunteers begin setting up for the meal at about 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving day. The doors open at 11:30 a.m.

According to Johnson, there is no reservation list for the holiday meal and everyone is welcome.

“It’s unique because there’s so many reasons that people choose to come,” said Johnson. “There are people that maybe just recently lost a spouse or their kids have moved away and maybe they’re alone, but they just want to be with someone on Thanksgiving day. We have people that come and stay for hours and just talk and visit with whoever is at their table. It ends up being a nice social time.”

Johnson said that once the doors open for the meal, they will acknowledge the Iowa Central culinary students for their hard work as well as say a special prayer before the meal is served.

“We want to make that special for everyone and it always is,” said Johnson. “We’re very thankful and blessed with this community and the outpouring of support on this day. It’s very gratifying and a beautiful experience.”