Free Thanksgiving dinner at Marley's
Janster Janster - Last year my mother & I volunteered and ate there and we are doing the same again this year. It's a terrific event very well run by Anita and her great family with the use of the facility donated by Marley's. The place is good, the food is great, and the company is the best of all. Highly recommended. ;-)
GC Anita, her family and volunteers do a wonderful service each year at Thanksgivng with their free Thanksgiving dinner. Lots of love and preparation and planning behind scenes to make this day the success it always is. If you have never been and have no where to go for a great Thanksgiving dinner prepared with love...this is the place to be. We would be there ourselves again this year but this year we are heading upstate to cousins for that day. P.S. They can always use volunteers and donations as well...
joyful I got to cover the article about Anita's free dinner a couple of years ago for The Express-Times and also made sure to drive up and donate the day of the event. I felt so happy being there for such a great and giving cause to those who may not have anyone or the funds to have a Thanksgiving meal. Go Anita!
helpthekitty I remember that article. Very well written. Hope Anita has a great turnout this year.
mansfield mama 
Luvpts Yes attended there the last two years, and it was delicious and amazing. Such an amazing group of people!! I won't be going this year for I am lucky enough to have it together for ourselves this year but would not hesitate if I were you!!
icicle 
Dam Marley's is right on Main St. next to what had been the Trading Post that is now Exit Realty.
How does this work? Reservations? What a very generous thing to do! They must be terrific people:)
sparksjbc1964 
skippy 
Firstworldproblems 
RAS Doors open for dinner at noon, and it ends at 4:00 PM. It's on the HL calendar:
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/calendar/2015/11/26#e11190
Larry If the cost of the food is on your mind Larry, then you're missing the spirit of this event. It's about community, not money.
WE always tipped, they never asked for it but if we'd eaten someone else out itd of been 3x what we tipped
If the cost of the food is on your mind Larry, then you're missing the spirit of this event. It's about community, not money.
GC
GC, I don't think Larry is worried or questioning the cost. I think he is alluding to the OP's question of " How is it" Which I was thinking the same thing, but didn't want to come off as bashing Janster. It's free, its a good cause, and it geared toward those who may not have a Thanksgiving or instead of eating alone. So it really doesn't matter how it is.
Clyde Potts Enjoyed donating a turkey today to this great event. Thank you to Anita and her family for providing a wonderful meal.
Clyde - I understood that, but also wanted to make an additional point. It's geared towards absolutely everyone, not just those that might not otherwise have a Thanksgiving or be alone. My statement about cost isn't a poke at Larry either. It's just not necessarily easy to put into a post the unique kind of coming together that it's about. And I've gotten that from only going once last year.
Never attended the Thanksgiving Dinner at Marley's, but it's great the community offers these. There is also one offered at Trinity Church from 12pm to 2pm on Thanksgiving.
stayintune Does anyone know if this is an annual event? Is it still occurring this year?
Seems wonderful!
DD 
Michael Is this a dinner for people who have nowhere else to go or have no money to buy their own turkey? Some of the post make it sound like it is just a free meal that anyone else can come to. How did the dinner become famous? What were the original intentions behind offering this free meal? Please respond if you know.
Lili Anita Rodriquez runs it. For many, many years. Anyone can go. Its a great thing!
Botheredbyuu2 It's held every year, it was previously at the Moose before it grew a bit and Marley's offered their space. Anita has been interviewed on WRNJ a bunch of times. The intention is that it's for absolutely everybody for any reason at all. No questions asked. It's all about community.
It's on the HL calendar for anyone who needs the specifics. Hope to see everyone there.
Does anyone know if they need turkeys? I may not need the free one I earned at ShopRite, and would be willing to give it to the cause if I don't need it this year. I missed my church's donation, as they gave out their baskets last weekend.
MO H'town Will the bar be open? Glass of wine would be awesome with dinner. Obviously, not free.
Curly Good morning! I am Anita, my family and I run the dinner.
Yes, this is a dinner for EVERYONE and anyone who walks in.
This meal is served restaurant style. A hostess will seat you, waitstaff will take your food and drink (coffee,tea,soda) order. Adult beverages are available for purchase at the bar. Light dinner guitar music will be played by Bill Ihling.
To finish your meal, you may want to choose from desserts of all types.
“The only thing missing at the end of the meal, is the check”
Anita Rodriguez Thanks MO H'town, they already got as many as they can handle. Anita put out a message suggesting donating to the Rotary collection but I think that was yesterday. The Rotary gives everything to Norwescap so it might be possible to give the turkey directly to them. Trinity also runs a Thanksgiving meal and may be able to take it.
There is a Facebook event for the dinner:
https://www.facebook.com/events/703361569849473/
A very wonderful community service... I may donate some $$. Do you take donations for this?
lisa1 
Bessie Thanks Bessie, your donation was a really nice way to give back to some guests.
Best phrase ever is "Gobble 'til you Wobble". ;-)
What a great family, what great donations, the other families helping out each year are so fantastic, and what great groups of people that come in and request the same table again. Seemed like we saw 4 out of the same 5 set of friends from last year. Went from talking about places we traveled to last year to the trip I took after getting help from them.
Now that's the meaning of the dinner. It's not called a "Family Dinner" for nothing. ;-)
Let me start these thoughts with feelings of gratitude towards the generosity of Hackettstown and the surrounding area. You gave with love. Thanks to Marley’s Gotham Grill for hosting us again.
This was our busiest year. Nearly 300 meals were served from our kitchen! This was a challenge that was met with strength and endurance by the Kitchen Crew. ¡BRAVO!
to all at the back of the house!
What can I say about the waitstaff in front? They were the face and listening ears of this dinner. Servings food, hostessing, serving beverages, they made our guests feel at home.
Special thanks goes out to:
Bill Ihling for bringing us together, while we ate, with his gift of guitar music
Also to Elise of Calico Country, for the beautiful bud vases. They really tied the room together.
Jill Zinckgraf, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Crisis Center, for the donation of 200 toys. What a wonderful addition!
To all who contributed gift cards, $425 were distributed. This was IMPORTANT.
I am truly humbled by ALL OF YOU for taking part in my dream for our Hackettstown...
wow Thank you for everything you do, I would have never thought in our town so many people need assist. I would love to help out with anything you do or next year. Thank you so much
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