Long before most area families lifted the lid from their turkeys, volunteers throughout Reading and Berks County were busy Thursday morning, ensuring people in need would be fed.
Several local organizations and businesses stepped up to serve free Thanksgiving meals to those who might otherwise go without.
William Lockhart Sr. keeps the turkey warm on an outdoor barbecue at the House of Good Food, 140 W. Buttonwood St., on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The day started early for a group of Reading High School basketball players.
The team members sponsored a meal, hosted by the Marvel Ranch, 359 Penn St.
The event, now in its second year at the restaurant also benefits the players by teaching them the importance of service, said Lenny Stinson, a junior varsity coach.
“It gives them the chance to grow. It gives them the chance to learn,” he said, noting that by volunteering the youth learn the importance of service to others.
The idea for the event formed when Shawn Stankiewicz, also a JV coach and a Marvel Ranch regular, started brainstorming with restaurant owner Cheryl Burton.
“The idea basically was trying to get our players more involved with the community,” he said. “And it’s just exploded into something big.”
Players, coaches, supporters and other volunteers came together to cook and package the food Wednesday before distributing 150 meals Thursday.
While the restaurant team handled the cooking and carving, the basketball players and their families contributed by packing and handing out the meals.
Thanksgiving morning, they started at 7:40 a.m.
Less than an hour later, all the food was gone.
Cameron Jones, a 15-year-old sophomore, said he returned to volunteer this year to continue giving back.
“I volunteer just to see people with smiles on their faces eating and having a good time,” he said.
Ninth grader Andry Richardson, who joined in for his first year, agreed.
“It makes me happy to see people smile when they get a free meal,” he said.
Andry Richardson, 14, a Reading High School freshman and basketball team member, gives out Thanksgiving meals to passing motorists at the Marvel Ranch, Fourth and Penn streets, on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The team’s service isn’t limited to the holidays, Stinson and Stankiewicz noted. The boys also organize neighborhood and park cleanups and other community efforts.
Senior Khaliq Weaver, 18, reflected on his four years of service with the team.
“I met Coach Shawn and Coach Lenny in ninth grade, and they introduced me to giving back to the community,” he said. “I just fell in love with it.”
Approximately 15 boys from the junior varsity and varsity teams, each, volunteered Thursday.
They were supported by their parents and the Reading High Squires Club, a booster organization that also helped gather donations of pies, cornbread, macaroni and cheese, and trays of vegetables.
Wendy Boyd, club president, said interacting with the boys is the most fulfilling part of being a Squire.
“Watching them grow, watching them become good people — it’s awesome,” she said.
The event was just one of several free meals Thursday organized by area groups and churches.
These included Holy Trinity Church of God, 130 W. Buttonwood St.; Kennedy House, 532 Spruce St.; Fat Boyz Pizzeria, 953 N. 12th St.; Rosedale Camp Grove, 1616 Vine St.; JS’s Steaks, 3998 Penn Ave.; and The 5th Street Barbershop, 146 S. Fifth St.
At Holy Trinity, volunteers prepared more than 550 meals for delivery and takeout.
“We turn no one away,” said William Lockhart Sr., a longtime volunteer.
Tammy Lockhart prepares Thanksgiving meals at the House of Good Food, 140 W. Buttonwood St., on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
He and his wife, Tammy, have been involved since the outreach began in 1991, he said.
“It’s just in thankfulness,” Tammy Lockhart said. “God gives us a mind to be thankful to give to those who do not have.”
The tradition is sustained by hundreds of volunteers who cook turkeys, assemble meals and deliver them to those in need.
For those relying on Meals on Wheels, the church and the Reading-Berks Association of Realtors stepped in.
Since Berks Encore does not cook or deliver on Thanksgiving, R-BAR volunteers have provided this service for 40 years.
About 20 turkeys are cooked at home by volunteers and delivered to the social hall of West Lawn United Methodist Church. There, the meals, including turkey, potato filling, cranberry sauce and dessert, are assembled by brokers, agents and their families, then handed off for delivery to homebound residents.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic many organizations offering free meals have shifted to takeout. But at Kennedy House, volunteers served a sit-down meal for more than 120.
Michael Knoll prepares the dining room for the Thanksgiving meal at the Kennedy House, 532 Spruce St. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The soup kitchen, 532 Spruce St., is a mission of the Poor Sisters of St. Joseph.
Thanksgiving dinner organizers Michael Knoll of Exeter Township and Diane Lindy of Spring Township have been volunteering for 22 years with a core group that now includes multiple generations of family members.
Over the years, Lindy said, she has come to recognize some of the regulars they serve.
“I love seeing the people, but I hate seeing the same people,” she said, explaining that it saddens her to see the same people are still in need year after year. “They’re always so grateful, and they’re always so thankful.”
Members of the Reading High School basketball team assemble meals for distribution at the Marvel Ranch, Fourth and Penn streets, on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Tammy Lockhart prepares Thanksgiving meals at the House of Good Food, 140 W. Buttonwood St., on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Pastor Robert Brookins of Holy Trinity Church of God in Christ, 130 W. Buttonwood St., takes Thanksgiving meals to an encampment of those without homes on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. For story and more photos, see Page A3. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Andry Richardson, 14, a freshman at Reading High, gives out Thanksgiving meals to passing motorists at the Marvel Ranch, Fourth and Penn streets, on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Thanksgiving Day meals are prepared at the House of Good Food, 140 W. Buttonwood St. on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Andry Richardson, 14, a Reading High School freshman and basketball team member, gives out Thanksgiving meals to passing motorists at the Marvel Ranch, Fourth and Penn streets, on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Diane Lindy of Sinking Spring assigns some prepared filling to her helpers from left, siblings Garrett, 12, Kaydence, 14, and Nolan McCready, 10, at the Kennedy House, 532 Spruce St., on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
William Lockhart Sr. keeps the turkey warm on an outdoor barbecue at the House of Good Food, 140 W. Buttonwood St., on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Michael Knoll prepares the dining room for the Thanksgiving meal at the Kennedy House, 532 Spruce St. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Norah Foreman, 5, peeks out the window of the Marvel Ranch, Fourth and Penn streets, as she watches the Reading High basketball team assemble Thanksgiving meals on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Zach Foreman of Shoemakersville volunteers at the Marvel Ranch, Fourth and Penn streets, helping the Reading High basketball teams distribute Thanksgiving meals on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
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Members of the Reading High School basketball team assemble meals for distribution at the Marvel Ranch, Fourth and Penn streets, on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)