LYNN — For the past 27 years, Brothers Deli in Lynn has served up free Thanksgiving meals to anyone in need, and while COVID-19 restrictions eliminated the usual crowded family atmosphere, the tradition remained the same.
Brothers Deli owner George Markos estimated that approximately 1,200 packaged turkey dinners had already been handed out by 11 a.m., far more than he anticipated, especially with three hours remaining in his distribution window for the holiday.
Markos had planned to hand out Thanksgiving meals from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, but opted to start even earlier, when he noticed eight to 10 people were already waiting outside in the rain at 6 a.m.
“We started giving plates at 6 a.m.,” said Markos. “The trick was to get the people out fast because it was raining.”
Unlike past years, people were deterred from coming inside the establishment to eat, which usually served as a gathering place for those who had nowhere else to go on Thanksgiving.
Instead, Markos and his staff pre-packaged 1,600 traditional turkey dinners, and handed them out to people as they came up to the front door. The vast number of meals that were being served was best illustrated by the stacks of to-go boxes that covered most of the tables in the deli early Thursday morning.
By 11 a.m., Markos had already exceeded the amount of meals that he had served on Thanksgiving last year, and appeared to be well on his way to serving the 400 remaining meals that he had started preparing on Wednesday.
“It was higher because life got more expensive,” said Markos about exceeding his totals from past years. “I know most of the people. I know they need their meal.”
Helping matters was the easy pick-up system, he said, noting that many people still tend to avoid going to a lot of places because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but were able to quickly pick up their meal and go without lingering on Thursday.
Although Markos was not sure if serving to-go Thanksgiving dinners would draw the same crowds this year, his preparation remained the same. He started cooking 2,100 pounds of turkey and 1,000 pounds each of carrots, squash, and potatoes, along with bread and stuffing on Wednesday.
His nephew’s son and his nieces also made 400 cookies, and his staff pitched in to help package and hand out meals on Thursday.
Markos estimates that he has served approximately 50,000 Thanksgiving meals since he started the annual tradition in 1993. His desire to feed others stems from memories of his first years in the United States when he immigrated from Greece and holidays were frugal.
He had always wanted to provide free meals to people on Thanksgiving, but it wasn’t until his father died that he was inspired to start the tradition.
And 27 years later, Markos has no intentions of stopping anytime soon.
“I want to keep doing this because I developed a neighborhood,” said Markos. “I developed friendships. I developed trust of people. Holidays without people is not a holiday. Me and my family, we want to enjoy holidays with people. That’s what a holiday is.
“There’s different ways to celebrate with your family and different ways to celebrate like this. I want to show my kids and my grandkids life is not just for us. Good is possible for everyone, not just for us.”
Brothers Deli was one of several local organizations providing free meals on Thanksgiving.
Haven From Hunger in Peabody distributed to-go dinners from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., The Friends of Salem Council on Aging sponsored home-delivered Thanksgiving dinners to Salem seniors, and My Brother’s Table in Lynn provided to-go turkey dinners to individuals and families from noon to 6 p.m.
By 1 p.m., approximately 225 of the 700 prepared meals had already been served at My Brother’s Table, according to Dalene Basden, a volunteer at the soup kitchen.
Things were going well, Basden said, noting about 50 volunteers were helping to pack up meals for the long line of people who were waiting outside.
“It’s important because with COVID, the need to feed individuals has increased, especially at this time during the holidays because people aren’t able to join their families,” said Basden. “We have a lot of people getting meals today who would usually be sitting down with their families.”
