Lutz School Preps for Thanksgiving Feast

Maniscalco Elementary students and their families will enjoy a Thanksgiving meal together at the school Wednesday.

That meal is the result of lots of hard work by the school's nutrition services department and volunteers.

Four days of prep work went into creating the feast the students will enjoy, student nutrition manager Joanne Brown said.

Turkeys were cooked, sliced then frozen late last week. And plenty of fresh produce was brought in to make the sides from scratch over the past few days.

"Everything is fresh, nothing comes from a box," Brown said.

And that might make the process take a bit longer, but it's worth it.

"It's a lot of work, but after it's done we sit back and say 'Wow,'" she said.

The meal is a special one for the students.

"The kids enjoy it because the parents are here," Brown said.

Brown said her favorite part of the event is the sense of community that it fosters. When parents come in, they get to see that in action.

"It's not just teachers, kids and staff," Brown said. "We're all a community and parents get to see that."

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