My Friend Feeds 10,000 on Thanksgiving

Bet you thought I was kidding. Nope, my friend, Liz Neumark, owner of Great Performances, one of the foremost catereres in New York City, fed 10,000 people yesterday on Thanksgiving. Ok, she didn’t do it all by herself. But she was the force behind it. She writes a blog on the Huffington Post, and I wanted to reprint it today. In the spirit of this season, she inspires me. We all need our friends to do that now and again. Congrats Liz and Co. Well done.

Still Intimate at 10,000 by Liz Neumark

24 hours from now, I will be “elbow deep” in turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, green beans and more. Only it will not be at a traditional family gathering; it will be on Washington Avenue in the South Bronx. This Bronx venue is just one of 10 where Great Performances, under the auspices of the Salvation Army, will be feeding 10,000 New Yorkers a traditional – healthy and wholesome – holiday meal. My team will prepare and serve 900 meals, in quantities not familiar to most people. (We will serve 360 lbs of turkey alone and over 2,000 of food in total.)

I heard some industry buzz that our participation in feeding 10,000 hungry people was not a good reflection on our brand. That a true high end, boutique, catering company would not embrace or proudly talk about this “mass feeding” opportunity. That stopped me dead in my tracks.

Feeding New Yorkers has been my job for close to 30 years. It is the gala social and non-profit events, glamorous movie premieres, intimate CEO level private dinner parties, celebratory life cycle events from cradle to matrimony, and Fortune 500 events that we specialize in. Politicians, movie stars, rock stars, sports stars, star CEO’s – our client list is pretty cool.

And yet, I feel honored to be part of the catering company that is bringing this delicious meal to the tables of thousands of hungry, some homeless, some just down on their luck neighbors – a table we will decorate and serve with the same warmth we bring everywhere.

Our 4,000 sq ft commissary is not the largest in the catering industry, but it has seen many days of multiple events and our culinary staff knows how to make magic happen. Our cooks, chefs and dishwashers have spent the past several days (which would have otherwise been quiet for us) cooking turkey after turkey after turkey. Sure, they are happy for the work, but I think they are so proud to be a part of this effort.

Over 250 co-workers and business associates of the company will join together tomorrow from early in the morning through the afternoon to make the meals happen. The trucks will start to roll to the various destinations beginning at 5:30 AM. Crews will load the trucks in the middle of the night – in about 12 hours.

And the same care that goes into creating a glamorous gala dinner will go into 10,000 dinners.

One thing I have learned above all else, being able to give to others is the richest form of getting. I cannot believe that what we are doing should be commended for being the right thing to do any more than it should be criticized for being the wrong thing to do. And if this act has negative impact on our high-end brand equity, then there is something wrong in thinking that the elite are worthy of better food than anyone else.

I am so proud of my co-workers, friends and family who have chosen to give up their holiday to help serve others. And whenever the day ends tomorrow, and wherever we all go to put our feet up and rest, it will be with a sense of true thanksgiving for what we have, a good feeling for having shared the day with others and a small measure of humility and guilt for our good fortune.