23 years in, 2 Star Market's free Thanksgiving meal keeps growing

In 2002, nearly two decades after first opening Two Star Market in Oakland’s Dimond District, the Alawdi family was cooking up a way to bring people together over food and give back to the community that had embraced the neighborhood grocery store. They drew inspiration from current owner Farouq Alawdi’s grandfather, who, back in Yemen, would invite people into his home for a meal throughout the month of Ramadan, taking it as an opportunity to serve others.

2020 MacArthur Blvd. (at Cañon Ave.), Oakland

Thursday, Nov. 27, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Farouq’s father and the founder of Two Star Market, Ali Alawdi Sr., and his brother, Abdo Alawdi, decided to continue this tradition in the U.S. and thought that Thanksgiving was the ideal time.

“We thought the only way to do that is to assimilate with the day on Thanksgiving, because everyone is off,” Farouq Alawdi said. “It just made more sense. So we started that tradition with the community in the Dimond District. We had help from the Dimond Improvement Association, people from the community, and customers.”

The 2 Star Market Thanksgiving is a highly anticipated event for the Dimond district and broader Oakland community. Credit: 2 Star Market

The first year, they cooked 20 turkeys and, at most, 50 people showed up. Since then, the event has kept growing, simmering into something richer each year. Last year, they cooked 100 turkeys, served over 1,000 plates, and some 600-700 people attended. This year, the 23rd installment of the Thanksgiving feast, they are expecting more than 1,000 people and are collecting donations and items to make it the largest event yet.

Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf (second from right) presents a certificate of recognition to Farouq Alawdi in 2021. Credit: 2 Star Market

The 2025 Two Star Market Thanksgiving Day Celebration will be Thursday, Nov. 27, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., at 2020 MacArthur Boulevard, and is completely free to attend.

The bulk, 80-90%, of the food is provided by Two Star Market, but in the last few years, as the event has continued to grow, the family started accepting donations. They’ve partnered with non-profits and community members, such as the Manzanita Center. These partners and others provide donations such as extra turkeys. Through their GoFundMe this year, they’re taking monetary donations as well as donations of various items from balloons and name tags to aprons and extra chairs. They are also taking canned food and clothes donations at Two Star Market, which you can drop off during business hours.

“It’s just because of the cost, we’re still feeding this, but we’re willing to take as much help as possible,” Alawdi said. “I’m not out there begging, but if someone is willing to donate, I will take it. But this event will still happen; we’re not going to stop it because of lack of funding.”

More than 200 people pitched in as volunteers at the 2024 2 Star Market Thanksgiving. Credit: 2 Star Market

The food also goes well beyond the typical Thanksgiving dishes. There’s pizza, Middle Eastern rice, BBQ chicken, spaghetti, kebabs– each year, a couple of volunteers come up with a new side that is added to the lineup.

Alawdi said that the event has really grown into a community party.

“It’s really not just for the people that are in need. It’s for anyone who wants to have a good Thanksgiving meal with the neighborhood or with strangers. It’s a community event, it’s for the neighborhood, for customers, for people just passing by,” Alawadi said.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Alawdi said, at first, they weren’t sure how to have the event. The store was open since it was an essential business, and in September, they started to receive 10-15 calls a day from the community asking if they were still having the Thanksgiving event.

The 2 Star Market Thanksgiving is free for the community, and they are collecting donations on GoFundMe this year to serve as many people as possible. Credit: 2 Star Market

“We didn’t have a clue how to go about it, “Alawdi said. “And there’s no way to stop this; it has its own momentum. It’s driving itself, so people are anticipating it.”

They ended up doing a version of the event with just to-go plates.

Volunteers are the driving force behind the event, Alawdi said, with over 200 people pitching in last year. Many of the same people come back each year to volunteer. For the past 15 years, the Police Academy has sent around 50-70 police cadets to help with the event, arriving at 6 a.m. to help throughout the day. The former Oakland mayor, Jean Quan, has volunteered.

Aleja Rambonga and Cynthia Rambonga are two of the veteran volunteers who have kept coming back for the past 15 years. Starting as volunteers, they are now the main coordinators for the event.

“We’ve grown as a family, as friends; we look forward to it each year,” Alawdi said. “We see each other, maybe every two to three months, but once Thanksgiving comes, we see each other at least once a week starting Nov. 1, and these are the same volunteers. So we see a lot of familiar faces, and we see new faces, but it just shows how the same volunteers want to come back for the same event every year; it shows how this event has grown into the community.”

The 2 Star Market Thanksgiving includes activities for kids, give-aways and other activities in addition to food. Credit: 2 Star Market

The event also has music and activities, including a bouncy house for kids. A non-profit called The Market Art Festival provides the stage and the music, and they also have live performances by local artists. This year, Junie Ma, an 8-year-old rapper based in Oakland, will be one of the performers. There’s also a station where people can come and get jackets, canned food, and other items donated by the community.

“It’s Thanksgiving with flavors,” Alawdi said.

Alawdi and his family have thrown this event each year to give back to the community. Alawdi said this year, especially with the suspension of SNAP benefits during the federal shutdown, he wants to make sure word gets out that everyone is welcome.
“This is all really a way of giving back, if it weren’t for the customers in the community, our business would not be in that area,” Alawdi said. “We’ve been there over 40 years, and the store has been going through economic ups and downs, but we’re still there. It’s a way of giving back and just enjoying that moment.”

23 years in, 2 Star Market’s free Thanksgiving meal keeps growing

Tags: