UIndy Thanksgiving dinners donated to charities
By Cecilia Perdomo
Staff Writer
The University of Indianapolis hosts a Thanksgiving dinner on campus every year for faculty and students to come together as a family.
The dinner was on Nov. 15 in the Schwitzer dining room and was served at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.
An average of 300 people attend the dinner. For this reason, the cafeteria was fully staffed and the dinner divided in two shifts, said graduate student-worker Ramesh Chandran.
According to chef Dan Phillips, the dinner included an oven roasted whole turkey, sage dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, Jell-o, pumpkin pecan pie and cranberry relish.
According to Chandran, the Thanksgiving dinner is the most exquisite meal that Phillips and the staff workers in the cafeteria prepare.
The Thanksgiving dinner is the favorite event of Ted Polk, director of Polk Food Service, because it is a way of showing his appreciation to the students, Chandran said.
According to Polk, an estimated 120 turkeys are cooked.
“It is my favorite one of the year. I just love it [the dinner] because it brings us all together like a
family,” Polk said.
According to Chandran, the remaining turkey is sliced and put into aluminum pans and taken to the charity chosen that year.
“[This] is a good occasion to attend,” Chandran said
“Everyone has a great time, and the food is outstanding. It’s better than a home-cooked meal.”
In past years, Polk Food Service has donated food to several charities.
This year the charities chosen were Ronald McDonald House, Wheeler Mission and Manna Ministries.
Polk helps the charities by preparing turkeys and cooking side dishes.
“I donate to charities,” he said, “because it is the right thing to do.”
