CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Joe Salem Thanksgiving Dinner is a decades-long Corpus Christi tradition and has been for 77 years. This year, because of COVID-19, the dinner will look a little different.
Instead of having everyone gather to eat together inside the Sokol Corpus Christi Gym, organizers will have a drive-up distribution system. This allows everyone to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal while staying safe.
Joe Salem passed away years ago, but family and other volunteers keep his legacy alive year after year with the dinner.
Salem, a Texas legislator in the 1970's, decided to feed the newspaper carriers throughout Corpus Christi and eventually expanded the tradition to include all the people he represented in the community, beginning the Joe Salem Thanksgiving Dinner.
The drive-up distribution will be at Sokol Corpus Christi Gym, 5502 Kostoryz, on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m. As always, there is no charge for dinner and everyone is welcome.
If you would like to volunteer, contact Raquel Molina at 361-739-8706. For more information about the event, call Lisa Saenz at 361-946-3395 or Elaine Medina at 361-331-2006.
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
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