Farmington Hills

Neighbors to celebrate Thanksgiving at Costick Center

By Tiffany Esshaki
C & G Staff Writer

FARMINGTON HILLS — For the first time, community groups from both Farmington and Farmington Hills are inviting residents to come together to give thanks and share a free Community Thanksgiving Feast with their friends and neighbors.

According to Youth and Family Services Division-After School Program Director Todd Lipa, the meal is a way of expanding annual efforts the cities makes to help families in need during the holiday season.

“We’ve been working with a corporation called PKC for the last four or five years now. We’ve been putting together Thanksgiving boxes to feed families with up to four, five, six people,” said Lipa. “We usually make 25 boxes for seniors and about 50 to 75 boxes for families.”

Lipa said donations have been plentiful for the past few years to create the Thanksgiving dinner supply boxes and, because of that, they’ve decided to take the idea to the next level.

On Nov. 13, residents will be welcome to enjoy a free traditional Thanksgiving dinner in the Costick Center gym from 4-7 p.m. According to Senior Adult Services Supervisor Marsha Koet, any resident of Farmington or Farmington Hills is invited to come and munch on turkey and stuffing, mashed and whipped potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.

“We’ll be giving out envelopes at the door, and if you can donate, put money in, and if you can’t, then don’t,” she said. “The donations will go to our outreach programs for senior services and the youth and family services for Farmington Hills. So it will go right back to feed more people.”

Lipa agreed, saying that while anyone is welcome to attend the dinner, low-income families will benefit most from the meal and from the donations of generous guests.

“The funds raised will be split among the senior division, the after-school division and the neighborhood house. Proceeds will go to buy gift cards at local grocery stores, so if members of those groups need groceries, they can come get a grocery card,” said Lipa.

Guests who come to the Thanksgiving feast will also be able to learn more about the dinner’s sponsors, including Gordon Food Services, the Mayor’s Youth Council, the Rotary Club of Farmington Hills and Farmington, and more, as well as the many community outreach programs available through the cities of Farmington and Farmington Hills.

Proof of residency, such as a driver’s license, will be required to attend the dinner. Though the event will be limited to the first 500 residents, Lipa said he hopes to have a full house of people to join in the celebration of his favorite time of year.

“I’m a big fan of Thanksgiving. I think it’s the greatest holiday we have all year long. It’s a time to be thankful.”

Reservations are requested but not required to attend the Community Thanksgiving Feast. For more information or to reserve space at the dinner, call (248) 473-1830. The Costick Center is located at 28600 11 Mile Road in Farmington Hills.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Tiffany Esshaki at tesshaki@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1095.