41st annual Thanksgiving for Paso Robles serves neighbors

By Camille DeVaul · Thu Dec 04 2025

Hundreds of volunteers serve more than 1,500 meals as organizers work to keep holiday tradition thriving

PASO ROBLES — Now in its 41st year, Thanksgiving for Paso Robles continued its mission of bringing the community together for a free, home-cooked holiday meal served with kindness, dignity, and fellowship. More than 1,500 residents took a plate during this year’s celebration, held Thursday, Nov. 27, at the Centennial Park Activity Center.

Guests filled the dining room to enjoy a traditional sit-down Thanksgiving feast, including turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, and all the trimmings. A to-go service followed, helping ensure that no one in the community spent the holiday without a warm meal.

Photos by Camille DeVaul/PRP

The annual dinner is entirely volunteer-driven, supported by hundreds of local residents, families, churches, students, and businesses who donate time, money, and supplies to keep the tradition going.

Volunteer David Kudija, said this year’s turnout reflected the community’s ongoing need and strong spirit of support.

“It's going well. Um, we have more people than normal, because things have been difficult,” he told Paso Robles Press during the event. Despite the high turnout, the kitchen kept pace. “We're hoping our food holds out … so far it has been.”

Kudija said he took time this year to personally sit among guests.

“For the first time this year, I've sat down with a group that is eating and I'm getting to know from the ground level how people enjoy it,” he said. “I met a very nice family.”

Behind the scenes, it takes roughly 230 volunteers throughout Thanksgiving week to prepare, serve, deliver, and clean up. Planning begins in August, when the event’s steering committee starts meeting every two weeks to organize logistics and fundraising.

“We have a steering committee that starts meeting in August,” Kudija explained. “We meet every two weeks to raise funds and do all the planning for this. We are looking for some people to join us on the steering committee.”

While the sit-down meal remains the heart of the event, the demand for delivered meals has grown significantly since the pandemic. In 2020, the dinner shifted to a drive-through format, and many community members have continued to prefer eating at home.

“I think so many people loved the thought of picking it up here and having it at home that our requests for meal deliveries have skyrocketed,” Kudija said. Even so, organizers continue encouraging residents to gather in person. “We're trying to get people to come here and enjoy dinner as a community with us. Thanksgiving's community, and that's what we try to promote.”

As with every year, the team faced challenges. Food costs continue to rise, and ensuring enough supplies for both the sit-down meal and deliveries requires careful coordination.

“Every year our bills are higher,” Kudija noted, though he added, “We believe we have them covered this year.”

Despite careful planning, a few items ran short during service.

“While we have run out of yams and dressing, we quickly went to the market to buy more,” he said.

The event’s reach extends beyond Centennial Park. Thanksgiving for Paso Robles also prepares 140 meals for ECHO Paso Robles, a partnership that has continued for four years.

“In addition to our dinner here, we take 140 meals to ECHO in Paso Robles,” Kudija said.

Before that arrangement, the group shared leftovers with the shelter, but now ECHO asked the committee to sponsor its full Thanksgiving meal.

Any remaining food is sent to other local nonprofits or community partners.

For Kudija, the goal is simple: to nurture community through generosity.

“Think community. If everyone would roll up their sleeves a little further and help their fellow man, the world would be a better place,” he said.

For more information on Thanksgiving for Paso Robles, visit thanksgivingforpasorobles.com

Feature Image: David Kudija (in back) and his fellow volunteers teamed up to serve 1,500 residents in the Thanksgiving for Paso Robles event Nov. 27 at the Centennial Park Activity Center. Photo by Camille DeVaul/PRP