Activist Rallies to Make Sure Thanksgiving Meal Happens

Steve Pleich might not have a seat on the City Council following last week's election, but he is proving to be a city leader by commandeering this year's free Thanksgiving meal.

Pleich coordinated efforts from city leaders, homeless advocates and nonprofit groups to make sure more than 1,000 low-income residents and homeless are fed a good meal on Thanksgiving Day.

"Fifteen hundred going hungry on Thanksgiving Day is not acceptable," said Pleich. "It's not the Santa Cruz way."

The group, calling itself Friends of Thanksgiving, wants to make sure the city's tradition of community meals stands: The Santa Cruz Community Thanksgiving will take place from noon to 4 p.m. at downtown's Civic Auditorium on Thanksgiving Day.

Last month, the United Veterans Council announced it would not be able to host the annual event, because of this year's closure of the Vet's Hall. The county stepped in and coordinated the use of the , but the veterans group said it was too late to coordinate the event.

And that's where Pleich stepped in, said City Councilman Don Lane.

"Steve said to me and a few other people, 'Isn't it terrible that this isn't going to happen. Shouldn't we do something about it?' and I said, 'Let's have a meeting,' " Lane said Friday.

"It struck me that it would be unfortunate if the meal didn't happen," said Lane. "If it wasn't going to happen, there would be a lot of homeless without a place to go."

So Lane joined the crew and played the role, he said, in ensuring the Civic Auditorium would still be a viable location.

He said he was concerned about not stepping on the toes of the veterans groups, yet still making sure the event happened.

"We made sure that they didn't mind that we are filling in for them this year," said Lane. "In the long run, this event will return to the vets hall. We just didn't want to see the loss of the community meal this year."

Pleich said other organizations have joined the effort. Most notable is the Homeless Services Center, which, he said, will handle "the administrative end" of organizing the event.

The offered the use of its ovens for cooking the turkeys.

But the loose-knit Friends of Thanksgiving is still looking for additional sources of revenue to fund the event. They are looking for both donations and volunteers.

"When I started doing this two weeks ago, I was one guy with a cell phone," said Pleich. Now he has a small army helping him make the annual event happen.

For more information or to learn how to help Friends of Thanksgiving, call Megan Carlson at the Homeless Services Center, 831-458-6020, ext. 1104, or go to www.scshelter.org.