Union Gospel Mission volunteers serve hundreds of Thanksgiving meals to Portlanders in need

Vernon Padberg’s hand shook as he pulled the plastic fork out of a butter packet and tried to spread the butter on a bun, then gave up and instead took a bite of the butter followed by a bite of the bread.

“It’s good food,” said Padberg, 66, fighting the persistent tremor as he dug into the turkey on the plate served Thursday morning by Union Gospel Mission volunteers. “If I can get it down.”

Union Gospel Mission served hundreds of meals of turkey, green beans, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie between 10 a.m. and just after noon on a sunny, clear-skied Thanksgiving Day.

Dustin Deleal stood in line outside the organization’s Northwest Third Avenue building, wearing black pants and hoodie and holding a black trash bag full to the brim with cans he said he’d collected in one night.

The volunteer at the double door told Deleal to come through. Inside, he saw a large hall with dozens of people sitting at the seven rows of tables as volunteers scurried among them. At the far end of the room was a cafeteria-style counter and immediately to the left of the entrance was a station for people taking food to go.

Deleal walked up the to-go table. About a minute later Emma Stein, 13, handed him a green plastic bag and wished him a happy Thanksgiving.

“Thank you guys, I appreciate it,” he said, before walking to the exit and stepping back out into the sun.

Stein’s father became executive director of Union Gospel Mission three weeks earlier, and this was her first time volunteering there. She was one of 35.

“I just love helping people,” Stein said, as a visitor with his green bag in hand tried to coax his confused and stubborn dog into leaving while another volunteer coordinated getting freshly brewed coffee to the to-go table.

The organization cooked about 95 turkeys and made 300 pounds of mashed potatoes this week and will have served 1,100 Thanksgiving meals, a spokesperson said.

Padberg stepped into the Mission as the Thanksgiving meal event was winding down. One volunteer led him to a spot at a table and several others brought him the main meal, coffee with cream and a slice of pumpkin pie.

He was grateful, Padberg said, especially as the shaking in his hand — which hasn’t been diagnosed but he believes is Parkinson’s disease — made his life ever more challenging. Still, it was not the best Thanksgiving meal he’d ever had, he said.

“It’s always better at home,” he said. “When mom cooks it.”

As she wrapped up for the day, Stein, the young volunteer, said the experience helped her see homeless people in a different light than the one she said society had imposed on her. People she talked to Thursday were kind and grateful, she said.

“They’re still kind,” Stein said. “They haven’t lost hope.”

— Fedor Zarkhin