“There is no sincerer love than the love of food.” — George Bernard Shaw

A friend who comes from a family of cooks starting with the great-grandmother, down to the grandmother, mother, and father, and two brothers who each had a neighborhood restaurant, one in the Caribbean and one in New Jersey, said that while the love of good food permeated the house, Thanksgiving Day was looked forward to the day summer ended.

Surprisingly, it was a day that the menu was the same as last year and the year before that, and the year before that, etc.  Each of the three children had their favorite vegetable on the table, two of which were never served during the rest of the year unless requested for their birthday dinner. Their mom wouldn’t dare alter the turkey stuffing by trying something new! That would have brought out a lot of dissension! Of course, the table was laden with far more food than could be consumed even with a few guests pulling up a chair. Thanksgiving Day was a warm memory remembered and savored long after most of the family had passed away.

While different people favor different holidays throughout the year, Thanksgiving Day is when people who don’t normally travel commit to getting to the homestead.  After coming together as a family, whether by family connection or by choice, the main feature is a day where food and the abundance of it are celebrated. This year many family and friends will need to use Zoom or Facetime to connect, but the food is still the main feature.  It is a day for your community chef to put his whole heart into the menu to extend the variety of favorite foods that will be expected, whether in the dining room or delivered to the individual rooms. It is a time and purpose to share the many cultures that have populated and made our country different from any other.

Kind Dining® teaches how the power of good service comes with the food servers when they carry extra cheerfulness along with the food brought to individual rooms. Pleasant conversation complements good food and is vital on holidays. As food servers, body language, a smile that shows in their eyes (above their mask), and their voice tone will help community residents remember they still have much to be thankful for, and a happy food server is one of those assets.

Our B♥ Kind® Tip: Food servers have an important role in helping residents overcome loneliness and isolation, especially on holidays.