Veridian Credit Union will serve its annual Mike and Leona Adams Thanksgiving Dinner through curbside pick-up again this year on Monday, Nov. 22 at the UAW Local 838 Union Hall in Waterloo. Now in its 40th year, the Cedar Valley’s largest free Thanksgiving meal shifted to pick-up and delivery-only in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our former board member Mike Adams and his wife Leona started offering a free annual Thanksgiving dinner in 1982 to help those in need during the farm crisis,” said Veridian President and CEO Renee Christoffer. “Now, decades later, our communities are facing another unique set of challenges. To honor the Adams’ legacy and keep this tradition, it’s important that we continue to find ways to serve.”
Mike Adams was a member of the UAW Local 838 and a board member for what is now Veridian Credit Union. He and his wife, Leona, brought both organizations together to serve the inaugural free community meal in November 1982. The event now serves 900-1,000 meals each year, including turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, corn, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.
In addition to curbside pick-up, Metropolitan Transit Authority (MET Transit) will deliver meals from the event to anyone living in Cedar Falls, Evansdale or Waterloo without transportation. A delivery or pick-up time slot reservation is required to receive a free meal and can be requested at www.veridiancu.org/Thanksgiving until Wednesday, Nov. 10. Timeslots are limited and available on a first-come basis.
Local contributors to the event include College Square Hy-Vee, Martin Bros. Distributing Co., Inc., Metropolitan Transit Authority of Black Hawk County, Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging, Special Occasions Party and Event Rental and the UAW Local 838.
