A Tradition of Community | Aiken’s One Table Food for the Body and Soul

Phyllis Maclay

November 4, 2019

Until you see the smiling faces hovering over steaming plates of food, until you hear the laughter and music drifting through the Alley, until you brush your arm against a friend you’ve met for the first time as you reach for your fork, you cannot understand what happens at Aiken’s One Table on Thanksgiving Day. More than just eating mashed potatoes and turkey dripping with gravy, more than splurging on spicy pumpkin pie and chocolate cupcakes, Aiken’s One Table is a feast of fellowship, friends, and fun.

When sliding your chair forward to the table, people leave their worries and differences behind to celebrate the holiday of gratefulness and thanksgiving. There are no strangers at the table, only first timers learning all are welcome. As diners savor food provided by churches, community groups, and individual donors, introductions are made and stories are shared. Eating outdoors as the breeze tugs your hair and the sun warms your cheeks is almost as pleasant as the neighborly service from the volunteers.

At a time when divisiveness seems to invade our daily lives, Aiken’s One Table gathering could be a dose for healing our differences while breaking bread in thankfulness as a community.

It is not in numbers but in unity that our great strength lies.

– Thomas Paine

People who love to eat are always the best people.

– Julia Child

Want to Help?

It take many people to make an event like this happen, and if you are thinking about volunteering to be part of One Table on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, from 11 am to 1 pm, there are several ways you can participate. Volunteers are needed for preparing and grilling the turkeys, donating food, setting up tables, serving the diners, and cleaning up. You can volunteer to make this community event successful by contacting Lynne Sharpe at 803.679.3894 or lsharpe624@gmail.com, or Kathryn Wade at 803.295.8585.

The location of the One Table Event is the Alley SW and Newberry Street SW in downtown Aiken. It is free and open to the public. The menu is turkey, rice, mashed potatoes, gravy, and donated side dishes and desserts. You may bring a dish to the gathering or just come to enjoy the good food and amazing company. Last year more than 1,200 people were served.

Visit OneTable.info for more information.

By Phyllis Maclay

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Phyllis Maclay

Phyllis Maclay is a published writer of articles in Country Woman Magazine, Parent Magazine, Easy Street Magazine, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, newspapers. Originally from Pennsylvania, Phyllis moved to Aiken from South Texas. She has published children’s plays and her novel, A Bone for the Dog, a chilling story of a father trying to rescue his little girl, is available at Booklocker.com and through her FB page. Her story, Sweet Brew and a Cherry Cane, appears in the anthology Nights of Horseplay by the Aiken Scribblers.

Phyllis Maclay

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