Meals of Thanks 2023: Giving Back to Veterans, Nurses, and Families in Need
Meals of Thanks 2023: Giving Back to Veterans, Nurses, and Families in Need
This Thanksgiving season, the team at New England's Tap House Grille is once again preparing thousands of fresh, from-scratch meals for those who need them most and those who sacrifice the most for our community. The Meals of Thanks program — now in its fourth year and covered in depth by New Hampshire Magazine — began during the darkest days of the pandemic and has since grown into one of the most meaningful community programs we run. This year, we're preparing more than 3,000 meals for area veterans, hospital nurses, and families experiencing food insecurity.
What Meals of Thanks Includes This Year
Our kitchen team and volunteers are preparing 500 turkey meals with all the traditional Thanksgiving fixings, 500 stuffed shells dinners, and 500 chicken stir fry entrees. These meals are delivered through the New Hampshire Food Bank to ensure they reach the people who need them most. Additional support comes from our partners at New Hampshire Magazine, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, and Northeast Delta Dental, whose sponsorship helps make the scale of this program possible.
Meals of Thanks also runs in May during National Nurses Month, when our team delivers hot meals to the staffs of Elliot Hospital and Catholic Medical Center in Manchester. For many nursing staff who work through holidays and major events, that delivery — a full hot meal, prepared with the same care as anything on our restaurant menu — is a meaningful gesture of recognition.
Why We Do This
"I have an obligation as a food purveyor to help others," says Dan Lagueux. It's not a complicated philosophy — it's a straightforward belief that those who feed people for a living have a responsibility to feed people who are going without. This program started in 2020 when our kitchen was idle and our staff had no work. We found a way to turn that hardship into purpose: cooking 1,000 fresh meals for hospital workers at the height of the pandemic. From that beginning, Meals of Thanks has grown into something we look forward to every year.
Frequently Asked Questions About Meals of Thanks
What is the Meals of Thanks program?
Meals of Thanks is a community program run by New England's Tap House Grille in partnership with New Hampshire Magazine, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, and other sponsors. The program prepares and delivers thousands of fresh, from-scratch meals to NH veterans, hospital nurses, and food-insecure families — twice annually, at Thanksgiving and during National Nurses Month in May.
How many meals does Tap House prepare for Meals of Thanks?
In 2023, New England's Tap House Grille prepared more than 3,000 meals for the Meals of Thanks program, including turkey Thanksgiving dinners, stuffed shells, and chicken entrees distributed through the New Hampshire Food Bank and to Manchester-area hospital staff.
How did the Meals of Thanks program start?
The Meals of Thanks program began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when New England's Tap House Grille's dining room was closed and the kitchen was idle. Owner Dan Lagueux partnered with New Hampshire Magazine and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare to prepare 1,000 fresh meals for hospital workers, police officers, and EMTs. The program has grown every year since and now serves thousands annually.
Thank you to our partners, our volunteers, and our guests for making this program possible. If you'd like to support Meals of Thanks, dining at the Tap House is a direct way to keep this kitchen running year-round — and the meals we give back begin with the support you give us. Visit us at taphousenh.com.