Nov. 25, 2009.

 

It was a Wednesday. A regular Wednesday.

 

There was an eagerness to serve in the air that regular visitors would say had very little to do with the upcoming holiday.

 

There were sights and smells of wonderful food that regular visitors would say had very little to do with the upcoming holiday.

 

And there was a frenetic pace all morning that regular visitors would insist was just like any other Wednesday.

 

And yet. And yet.

 

Every soul connected with Charlotte-Mecklenburg's meals-on-wheels program this day knew that their work would help make this Thanksgiving holiday weekend a bit brighter for the hundreds of ailing or elderly people who depend on Friendship Trays for food.

 

And for the board and staff at Friendship Trays, it was a day to give thanks that so many people think enough of this mission to make it a part of their lives.

 

Every weekday of the year.

 

So below we leave a photographic record of the morning of Nov. 25, 2009. A regular day.

 

A regular day, but a day worth celebrating.

 

A day when students of the Community Culinary School of Charlotte helped prepare the food.

 

A day when Culinary School alumni came back to the Distribution Street kitchen to help with the load.

 

A day, the second day in a row, when members of Center City Church worked in the kitchen.

 

A day when girls from Marvin Ridge Middle School BETA Club trekked in as a group from Weddington United Methodist Church to help.

 

A day when scores of volunteers gave their time and gasoline to help deliver meals to hundreds of their neighbors.

 

These are the people of Friendship Trays. Thank you to all.

 

 

A thank-you card in three acts:

 

 

Act One

 

 

Act Two

 

 

Act Three