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Joe Salem Dinner now in its 79th year of making sure everyone has a Thanksgiving feast

Volunteers will prepare more than 500 plates for Corpus Christi residents in their drive-thru distribution this year.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The 79th annual Joe Salem Thanksgiving Dinner will be held on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2022, from noon until 2 p.m. 

Dinner will be handed out at Sokol Corpus Christi Gym located at 5502 Kostoryz. 

Guests may line up in their vehicles in the the parking lot beginning at 11 a.m. Serving will begin after the invocation at approximately noon, and continue until all the food is gone.

Credit: Joe Salem Dinner

The Joe Salem Dinner was started by a former state representative and has taken place every year since the 1970s.

Salem passed away years ago, but family and other volunteers are keeping his legacy alive with the dinner.

Salem decided to feed the newspaper boys throughout Corpus Christi and eventually expanded the tradition to include all the people he represented in the community.

The Joe Salem Dinner has been a decades-old Thanksgiving tradition in Corpus Christi and 2022 marks it's 79th anniversary.

For years the Joe Salem Thanksgiving dinner was hosted at the Boys and Girls club but now calls the Sokol Hall home.

RELATED: Legacy of Joe Salem Feast will continue Thanksgiving Day

Contact Lisa Saenz at 361-946-3395 for event information or Elaine Medina at 361-331-2006 to volunteer.

Volunteer cooks will prepare 500 plates for a traditional turkey leg feast. Anyone wishing to volunteer should contact event staff and arrive at 10:30 a.m. with an apron. 

Meal prepping will begin at 3 a.m. on Thursday the 24th by the staff of the Sokol gym and volunteers.

RELATED: Turkey prices were up 17% in October, but Thanksgiving shoppers will likely see discounts

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