As the country’s busiest national holiday almost 400 years after its founding, Thanksgiving is more than a celebration of friends and family. It’s an opportunity to welcome in both our neighbors and passing strangers to share food, stories and recipes.

Local restaurants, such as Coffee Pot Restaurant in Sedona and Georgie’s Café in Cottonwood, host an annual free community meal, as do the Bread of Life Community in Camp Verde, the Sedona Elks Lodge and the Old Town Mission in Cottonwood. Meals are offered Tuesday through Thursday next week.

Without any nearby family, I always attend one of these free dinners to enjoy being around my friends and neighbors and avoiding the hassle of cooking. For me and many others the dinner is our one and only Thanksgiving meal.

At Coffeepot Restaurant on Wednesday, the Daher family, the restaurant’s staff and the employees’ children give back to a community that supports them during the rest of the year. Local government officials volunteer to serve and often bring items for the youngest servers, like the plastic fire helmets provided by the Sedona and Verde Valley fire districts. Donations go to the Sedona Community Food Bank.

Several of my friends regularly volunteer on the line at the Sedona Elks Lodge, choosing to give back to their community by serving mashed potatoes, turkey, gravy and vegetables. The Elks provides a hearty meal cafeteria-style where strangers sit side-by-side, offering the perfect opportunity to meet someone new.

Events like these go a long way to remind us that our community is a lot smaller and closer knit than we often think, and we thank those who host, sponsor, serve and attend these dinners.
We especially need this type of event following the recent unpleasantness of the 2016 general election. Our nation has been split almost in half with two thundering factions in echo chambers, hearing only what they want and refusing intentionally or by accident to hear from the other side.

We are more than just who we voted for. Whatever happens in the next four years, good or ill, we’re going to go through it together. It would be best to make peace with our neighbors and remind ourselves of what unites us: Our shared experiences, the city we call home and most strongly — pie.

Enjoy a hearty meal, good conversation and feeling part of a group doing good works for our community. The goal is to keep that feeling not only through the holidays but all year long and until next Thanksgiving.

Whether you go out locally, stay in, volunteer to serve, travel to family or have family visit you, Thanksgiving isn’t about the food, it’s about being a part of a sincerely thankful community.