Reserve Officers Plan Dinner for the Needy

Reserve police officers in Simi Valley will feed about 500 people Wednesday during the sixth annual Simi Valley Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner.

The food, which will be served from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Simi Valley Senior Citizens Center, has been donated by local supermarkets, restaurants and private donors and is prepared and served by volunteers.

When it began in 1989, the dinner was intended for the homeless, said reserve Sgt. Steve Sampson.

“There was a number of them in town, but it was a low number,” he said. “We realized others in town may not have a place to go. So it’s not just for the homeless but those on a low budget and also seniors.”

All emergency personnel on duty that day may stop in as well.

“If you don’t have anyone else to have dinner with, come down. It’s just our way of saying to the community, ‘Happy Thanksgiving,’ ” Sampson said.

Preparing a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for 500 people is no easy task, Sampson said. Maverick’s Barbecue Restaurant will cook 30 turkeys. In addition, there will be dressing, green beans, corn, yams, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls, pies and cakes. Beverages will include coffee, tea, milk and soda. “And there will be fresh fruit and cookies [that diners] can take with them,” Sampson said.

Wednesday’s dinner gives the community a chance to see officers in a nonthreatening environment, said Sampson, who works as a police service assistant during the day and has spent 25 years in law enforcement.

“This is a very positive contact we can have with the community,” Sampson said. “This just gives the people in the community a chance to sit down and be waited on.”

The senior citizens center is at 3900 Avenida Simi. Transportation will be provided for those who need assistance. Reservations can be made until 4 p.m. today by calling Simi Valley Dial-a-Ride at 583-6464.