District of Columbia's Veggie Group received nationwide publicity

[Guest guest]

Not only were they featured on Washington Post, but

their Thanksiving dinner event was featured at ABC's

Peter Jenning's show. The vegetarian group has a

membership of 900 members. David Schnieder, (former

president of North America's oldest vegetariant group

(75 years old organization)) currently resides in

California, part-time. He is the boyfriend of the

famous Lizzy of Alameda.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51652-2002Nov28.html

(the link might not work again)

 

GO TO THE bottom of the article, I flagged for you

where the location about vegetarian Thanksgiving****

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A Bounty of Food And Compassion For Those in Need

Holiday Generosity Amazes Charities

 

At a Knights of Columbus hall in Arlington, volunteers

Mildred Myrick, left, and Marie Beirne fill plates for

hungry diners. About 1,500 meals were served. (Rich

Lipski -- The Washington Post)

 

By Monte Reel and David Cho

 

Washington Post Staff Writers

Friday, November 29, 2002; Page B01

 

With about 300 turkeys already on the serving line and

more coming through the door every hour, organizers at

Washington's Federal City Shelter yesterday struggled

with a surplus of good fortune.

 

More food was streaming into the homeless shelter than

the volunteers could handle. And more volunteers were

streaming in than the organizers could handle.

 

" This is the time of year that everyone wants to

help, " said Terri Bishop, executive director of the

Community for Creative Non-Violence, which organized a

lunch for more than 1,000 homeless people at the

shelter near Second and D streets SW. " We work [the

volunteers] in shifts to rotate them through. We have

to tell some people to wait around until cleanup, just

so they can have something to do and to feel like they

helped out. "

 

Throughout the Washington region yesterday, volunteers

hit the streets, shelters and community centers to

make sure that all who wanted a holiday dinner could

get one, no matter their situation.

 

" I wanted to give back to the community, " said Robin

Moscati of Alexandria, who volunteered to make

deliveries for Food & Friends, a District-based

program that delivers meals to people with HIV/AIDS,

breast cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

" And I have a lot of compassion for people in need. "

 

Based on the turnout at charity dinners yesterday,

there were plenty of people in need -- and grateful

for the kindnesses. At the Federal City Shelter, the

line heading to the basement for hot food extended up

a flight of stairs and outside onto Second Street,

where the Cheesecake Factory had erected a tent to

serve dessert. In addition to the shelter's residents,

people from other facilities across the city showed up

for the dinner, which has been held for about 20

years, Bishop said.

 

Food was donated by corporations, restaurants and

individuals. A 6-year-old sent Bishop a 29-cent

donation. Donors arrived regularly lugging armfuls of

food, even though the shelter already had plenty.

 

" The public brings in more food than we could ever

use, " said George Woods, a volunteer. " It's amazing

how they've responded to the needs of the homeless

this year, even in the midst of an economic downturn.

We end up saving a lot, which will help us feed people

throughout the year. And we'll give some to other

agencies as well. "

 

A few other organizations could have used those excess

donations yesterday as they struggled to meet demand.

At the Edward Douglass White Council of the Knights of

Columbus in Arlington, about 1,500 meals were served

to the homeless, poor and elderly. That was about 200

more than were served last year.

 

John Cormany, the coordinator, was trying to come up

with ways to make the dwindling supplies feed as many

as possible.

 

" We might have to cut hams by the time this is over, "

Cormany said. " But this is what the Knights of

Columbus is all about. Our main principle is charity. "

 

For those on the receiving end, the charity was a

bright spot in an otherwise cold and cheerless day.

Chris McLaughlin, who has been homeless for more than

a year and is estranged from his family, was among

those in line for a meal. He struggled to remember the

last time he sat at a table to celebrate Thanksgiving.

 

" It's been a long time, " said McLaughlin, 53. " At

least it's a reminder that people still care, that you

are not alone. "

 

Knowing that not all homeless people seek shelters,

Keiara Robinson and her parents did what they've done

for the last nine Thanksgivings: They loaded the

family van with turkey and all the trimmings and drove

across the District, looking for the hungry.

 

A 17-year-old senior at Montgomery Blair High School,

Robinson got the idea to start a traveling food

service when she was a fourth-grader. The first year,

she spotted a heap of gray blankets on the sidewalk.

Robinson approached the blankets with cautious

uncertainty after her mother told her that a person

might be underneath. She noticed no sign of life, but

her mother told her to set the plate on the ground by

the blankets, just to see what might happen.

 

What happened was that two arms emerged from the heap

with frightening speed, and Robinson ran as fast as

she could back to the van. Scared but smiling, she was

initiated into what became a family Thanksgiving

tradition.

 

" When I first started doing this, I would get really

upset seeing these people and thinking it was so

unfair they had so little and that there was nothing I

could do for them, " she said. " But now, as I get

older, I realize there is something I can do. That

just makes me feel good. "

 

Pulling their white Chevy van off Pennsylvania Avenue

near the National Gallery of Art yesterday afternoon,

the Robinsons opened the back doors to reveal a

steaming 22-pound turkey, green beans, yams and pie.

Keith Robinson, Keiara's father, set a container full

of hot coffee on the sidewalk, along with cream and

sugar.

 

The 10 or so homeless men who had been lying on the

sidewalk nearby rose and approached the van

immediately. The Robinsons handed out Styrofoam plates

to them, and the men patiently waited to be served.

Many knew the drill from years past.

 

" Some of these guys we've seen here for five or six

years, " said Keith Robinson. " Some of them have seen

Keiara grow up. They know to look for us in our van

every year. "

 

One of the men told the Robinsons that he was glad

they stopped by, because he " would never set foot in a

homeless shelter. " Keiara Robinson said she has become

familiar with that sentiment: Some homeless people,

either because of mental illness or pride, won't seek

help, she said. So to reach those who might be

overlooked on Thanksgiving, she goes to them.

 

" It's good, " Rufus Johnson III said as he ate the food

atop a steaming sidewalk grate. " If this is the way it

has to be, then it's the way it has to be. "

 

Like the Robinsons, those at Food & Friends got an

early start on the day by welcoming volunteers to the

charity's Southeast Washington facility at 4 a.m.

 

Four hours later, the building was jumping. Two long

lines of volunteer packers stood at a stainless steel

table filling brown bags with all the ingredients for

a Thanksgiving dinner for four.

 

Among the volunteers, there was joking, laughter and

hip-swaying to the beat of 1970s disco music from a

boombox. Raucous applause broke out periodically as

volunteer drivers filed out of their back-room

orientation, picked up the bags and set off to deliver

them to 700 of Food & Friends' area clients.

Thanksgiving, said volunteers who work for the food

program year-round, brings out the celebratory spirit.

 

" It's more fun, " said Laurie Waldbillig, a certified

public accountant who lives in Northwest Washington.

" Everyone's happy -- people are spirited. "

 

Waldbillig arrived at 7 a.m. for her four-hour shift

at the packing table. She wanted to help out, she

said, because she knows how much the food bags mean.

" I've been there, when members of my family needed

meals delivered, " she said. " We're all too busy today,

and organizations like this fill in. "

 

The charity said that 350 volunteers -- some of whom

signed up months in advance -- helped prepare, pack

and deliver the meals. Domino's Pizza and Capital One

each donated $15,000 for the effort. Clients received

food for four, Executive Director Craig Shniderman

said, so that they could invite and express their

gratitude to those who had helped them throughout the

year.

 

" I have turkey elbow, " joked Gil Hofheimer, a

Mercedes-Benz salesman from Bethesda who joined the

packing line. " I have children and grandchildren, but

they are all out of town, so I had a little time. This

is a good opportunity to give of yourself a bit. "

 

This was the second Thanksgiving that sisters Kaitlin

and Gretchen Pierce of Arlington signed up to deliver

food. Last year, Kaitlin said, " the clients we

delivered to were just so much fun and so

appreciative. It brought home that AIDS hasn't gone

away. We've lost a handful of friends [to the

disease], and we do it for them. "

 

 

***

READ HERE ABOUT THE VEGGIE GROUP

***

 

Some who weren't feeding the poor or sick dined for a

cause. At Hyatt Regency Bethesda, the Vegetarian

Society of the District of Columbia celebrated the day

with a turkey-free, vegan banquet for about 250

people.

 

Members of the society, which is celebrating its 75th

anniversary this year, wanted to demonstrate that " one

of the best ways to give thanks is by respecting and

honoring all life, " said the organization's president,

Saurabh Dalal. " And you can find very tasty dishes

that don't include any animal product. "

 

The meal, prepared by the hotel, included " a wide

array of fruits, vegetables and grains, " said Dalal, a

Lanham optical engineer. Among the dishes: tofu and

herb salad; chick pea, arugula and tomato salad;

candied yams; wild mushroom ravioli; and vegan pumpkin

pie.

 

No matter the reason for missing out on a traditional

Thanksgiving Day meal, there seemed to be someone

providing a substitute. At the Four Seasons hotel on

Pennsylvania Avenue, volunteers set tables complete

with linens, candles and fine china for about 600 area

police, fire and rescue workers who had drawn the

holiday shift. The tables were inside a Mayflower

moving fan parked outside the hotel entrance, and

staff volunteers dressed as pilgrims and Indians.

 

" It's our third year doing this, " said Tricia

Messerschmitt, the hotel's spokeswoman. " All year, the

police, fire, Secret Service and Park Police do so

much for us that we wanted to take this natural time

of year to say 'Thank you' to them. "

 

Jenn Machovia's reason for missing Thanksgiving Day at

home was an occasion for joy: the birth of fraternal

twins on Tuesday. She and her husband, Chris, had

dinner in a tiny room at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Even

wearing a blue hospital gown, her face slightly pale

and drawn after a cesarean section, she couldn't have

looked happier.

 

" I was getting to the point where I was way too huge,

and a doctor asked me, 'Do you mind being in the

hospital on Thanksgiving?' " said Machovia, 25. " And I

said 'No, I just want to get these babies out of me.'

"

 

The Machovias weren't without family -- or turkey. The

parents and siblings of the happy couple gathered

yesterday to celebrate the births. The meal was

provided by the hospital, which cooked 5,000 turkey

dinners yesterday for employees, patients and

meals-on-wheels rs. The staff began serving

at 1 a.m. and was scheduled to hand out the last slice

of turkey at 8 p.m., said Inova Fairfax spokeswoman

Lisa Wolfington.

 

Foster Morse, a retired principal of Mark Twain Middle

School in Fairfax, had to pass on the turkey because

he was recovering from heart surgery the day before.

His entire family was there at the hospital to support

him.

 

" I was very nervous about coming in, " said Morse. " I'm

65 years old, but I haven't spent a day in the

hospital in my life. "

 

Yesterday, about 24 hours after his surgery, Morse

looked well. His color had returned to his face, and

he was joking with relatives.

 

" We have a lot to be thankful for, " said his wife,

Reba.

 

Staff writer Caryle Murphy contributed to this report.

 

 

 

© 2002 The Washington Post Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

=====

signature: FAQ on vegetarian resources

 

SFBAVeg/

http://www.vegdining.com

http://www.sfvs.org

Living Foods: SFLivingFoods/

due to my high amount of emails, I am unable to answer everyone's emails on

vegetarian questions.

 

 

 

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