This Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, and the days before that, the less fortunate can get a free meal, and local residents will be able to donate food or volunteer.
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Sky Club Fitness & Spa in Hoboken is collecting packaged food items for the New Jersey FoodBank.
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Numerous restaurants, churches, and shelters around Hudson County are offering the warm meals for anyone who needs one. Phone numbers, dates, and locations are provided below for more information.

Jersey City


St. Lucy’s Shelter, 619 Grove St., Jersey City, will hold its annual Thanksgiving dinner for anyone in need on Thanksgiving Day at 4 p.m. The shelter also accepts donations of food, supermarket gift certificates, winter clothing, and money throughout the year. Donations may be dropped off at the shelter. For more information, call (201) 656-7201.

The Hard Grove Café on Grove Street in Jersey City, near the Grove Street PATH station, is serving their annual Thanksgiving Day meal for the needy this year. Interested people should come in between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and say they are there for the Thanksgiving meal for the needy. Volunteers also are welcome. To sign up or get more information, call (201) 451-1853.

Steve Lipski and his wife Yraida and Coptic Community Services will host a traditional, complimentary Thanksgiving Dinner from noon to 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The dinner will be held at the Coptic Community Center at 861 Bergen Ave. in Jersey City. For more information or to make any monetary donations, call (201) 610-1009.

St. John the Baptist and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parishes are sponsoring a free Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the St. John the Baptist School auditorium, 3044 Kennedy Blvd. (enter parking lot side of school on Huron Ave.) For more information, contact Jimmy King at (201) 963-1383.

The Iron Monkey at 97 Greene St. in downtown Jersey City is opening its doors at 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day for a free, traditional Thanksgiving meal served in the second floor dining room. A colorful plate of donated food including turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and side vegetable will be served with a choice of soda, juice or coffee. Volunteers are needed to help serve dinner from 1 to 6 p.m. Contact the restaurant at (201) 435-5756 for more information.

The Wade Street Wonders Community Organization is holding a dinner for the public on Thanksgiving Day at the New Day Rehoboth Church of Christ, 126 Rutgers Ave. from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monetary donations are also accepted. For information on the dinner, call Vivian Brazzell-Hemingway at (201) 892-1172 or e-mail: vivianhemingway@yahoo.com.

Hudson County Community College, at 26 Journal Square in Jersey City, is currently conducting a Thanksgiving food drive at the Journal Square campus until Monday, Nov. 23. The college is asking for donations from the public of canned and non-perishable foods. Those donations can be brought to the college’s 25 Journal Square location on the first floor, near the Journal Square PATH station. The donations will benefit St. Lucy’s Shelter on Grove Street in Jersey City.

Also, in what is being called the “Turkey 911 Express,” off-duty paramedics and EMTs from Jersey City EMTs from Jersey City Medical Center will pack turkeys on Monday into an off-duty ambulance and deliver them to the Let’s Celebrate food bank for distribution to needy families throughout the city in time for the Thanksgiving Day holiday. They do not need volunteers, but families in need can contact the let’s Celebrate Food Bank (46-48 Fairview Ave., Jersey City) for more information about the food bank.

“This has been a very tough year for many families in Hudson County,” said Christopher Rinn, director of emergency medical services at JCMC.

Hoboken


The Hoboken Homeless Shelter, 300 Bloomfield St., will offer a full day of activities and food for the needy on Thanksgiving Day. They offer a dinner at 7:30 p.m. Board games and social time at 5 p.m.; movie at 3 p.m.; Thanksgiving lunch at 1:30 p.m. They need volunteers for certain shifts on Thanksgiving. They also encourage donations of paper and plastic plates and cups, plastic utensils, and napkins. To get more information, call Jaclyn Cherubini at (201) 656-5069.

There will be a Thanksgiving Day breakfast for the needy at St Matthew’s Trinity Church on Eighth Street (between Washington and Hudson) from 9 to 11 a.m. For more information or to make any donations of food or utensils, call the church at (201) 659-4499.

Mario’s Classic Pizza at 742 Garden St. will be hosting a free traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. The dinner is open to anyone in the community who needs it. For more information, call (201) 659-0808.

For the second year, the Hoboken Elks Lodge No. 74 at 1005 Washington St. will be serving a meal at the lodge to those in need on Thanksgiving Day from noon from 4 p.m. Also, meals will be prepared for takeout for those who are unable to stay. For more about the event or to donate, call (201) 222-8507.

On Sunday, Nov. 22 at 3 p.m., the Hoboken Clergy Coalition will hold an interfaith Thanksgiving Service at the United Synagogue of Hoboken at 115 Park Ave. The public can donate non-perishable Thanksgiving-related food items or paper goods. For more information, call (201) 659-4000.

St. Peter and Paul Church at 404 Hudson St. are asking parishioners to bring non-perishable food donations to church services during the week. Suggested trimmings include canned vegetables, stuffing mix, cranberry sauce, biscuit and muffin mixes, rice and boxed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, soups, applesauce and other canned fruit, pie filling, and pie crust and other dessert mixes. For more information, call (201) 659-2276.

Sky Club Fitness & Spa is collecting packaged food items for the New Jersey FoodBank until Nov. 24. Members will receive one free day of membership for each food item they contribute. Non-members will receive a free day guest pass for each food item that they donate. The club will accept food donations from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. For more information about the food drive, call (201) 222-2582, or stop by Sky Club Fitness & Spa, 125 Marshall St., Hoboken.

St. Francis Church at 308 Jefferson St. has a food pantry that serves lunches daily for the homeless or unemployed. The parish also collects and distributes packages of food to needy families throughout the year and on the holidays. But the food pantry will not be open on Thanksgiving Day. Food donations are always welcome and can be left at the rectory at 308 Jefferson St. Call for more information at (201) 659-1772.

Weehawken


The Township Council invites all seniors to join them at a Thanksgiving luncheon party on Saturday, Nov. 21 at the community room located at 525 Gregory Ave. at noon. There will be hot Turkey sandwiches, salads, music, and fun for all. To sign up or to find further information, contact the Weehawken senior center at (201) 319-6060.

Also, for the holiday season, t he Weehawken PBA is asking for donations for their annual toy drive to benefit the Cops-for-Tots program which gives the toys to needy groups in the area. The public is asked to donate a new unwrapped toy for either a boy or a girl, ages up to 15 years of age, by bringing it to one of the two Weehawken police stations, at 400 Park Ave. or at 4518 Park Ave. Another drop off location is the Weehawken Volunteer First Aid Squad at 201 Highwood Ave.

Union City


One of the three homeless shelters in Hudson County, the Palisades Emergency Residence Corporation (PERC) homeless shelter in Union City, will serve dinner on Thanksgiving from 5 to 7 p.m. at 111 37th St. It will be a traditional turkey dinner. Some of the dishes will also be prepared by firefighters from the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue, who are collecting food items from all NHRHR firefighters to donate to PERC. The PERC Shelter is a nonprofit interfaith organization whose mission is to provide food and shelter to residents in need. For more information to donate or volunteer year round, call (201) 348-8150.

Also in Union City, the Brian Stack Civic Association, as part of a 20-year tradition, is donating turkeys on Thanksgiving beginning this Saturday, Nov. 21, to needy Union City families. And the Civic Association, along with several Union City churches, is organizing dinners from noon to 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day for Union City residents at three locations: Miftaahul Uloom Learning Center at 501 15th St.; Centro Guadalupe at 545 35th St., and Iglesia Evangelica Pentecostal at 4903 Broadway. Those who want to volunteer to serve dinner should arrive at the centers by 11:30 a.m. Any Union City family that needs a turkey for Thanksgiving can call Mayor Stack’s office at (201) 348-5755. Leave your name, address and a number where you can be reached, and someone from Mayor Stack’s staff will arrange delivery.

West New York


The West New York Lions Club is asking for donations of non-perishable items, such as canned food to help with their annual Thanksgiving food drive. Every year, the club provides food to four area churches and the Palisades Emergency Residence Corporation shelter in Union City. Donations can be made at Auto City located at 32nd Street and Palisade Avenue. For more information, contact the Lions’ Club past president Manny Reyes at (201) 424-1201.

On Saturday, Nov. 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., the city of West New York plans to hold a senior Thanksgiving Party at West New York Middle School at 201 57th St. Tickets are required. For more information on tickets, call (201) 295-5144.

Secaucus


King’s Kitchen, made up of volunteers from several Secaucus churches, will be delivering meals to the elderly shut-ins on Thanksgiving Day. They also are looking for volunteers to cook Thanksgiving dinners. For more information, call Agnes Bowman at (201) 456-0584, Elba Robertson at (201) 866-4933, or Sue Gregory at (201) 863-2253.

Also, Secaucus has an emergency food pantry that gives food to needy families. It’s located at 101 Centre Ave. Call (201) 330-2014 for more information or to donate.

Bayonne


The Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation will serve dinner for seniors on Thanksgiving Day at noon in the community room of Backbay Gardens, 535 Avenue A off West 23rd Street. The BEOF will also deliver meals to senior shut-ins. For more information, call Eleanor at (201) 437-7222, ext. 20.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.