Pizza is passé once a year at Mt. Mike’s Pizza.
It’s been happening now for six years. This Thursday owners Jeff and Tevani Liotard will open their North Main Street at Louise Avenue restaurant for a free community Thanksgiving meal.
Dubbed “Thanksgiving in Manteca,” a small army of volunteers are expected to serve in excess of 1,600 meals between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the restaurant as well as send hundreds more to other locales around Manteca, Ripon, and Lathrop where meals will be served at locations such as the American Legion Hall in downtown Manteca.
Volunteers started brining 197 turkeys on Monday. Then at 2 a.m. on Thursday another crew will show up at various Manteca Unified cafeteria kitchens and start cooking the birds. Four hours after that a “picking crew” will take over to strip the birds of the meat.
Then, like clockwork, other volunteers will show up at Mt. Mike’s to prepare everything from potatoes and gravy to stuffing and corn as well as to slice pumpkin pies.
The endeavor is a joint effort of Manteca Sunrise Kiwanis and Manteca Rotary in partnership with the Manteca Unified School District, Manteca Police Officers Association, Second Harvest Food Bank and other non-profits. It also benefits from the generosity of the community that stepped forward for the Turkeys R Us drive as 197 of the 2,033 donated birds are dedicated to the main course for the community dinner.
 Manteca Sunrise Kiwanis and Manteca Noon Rotary are looking for sponsors and /or donations for this event.  Any individuals or groups interested should contact Tevani Liotard, (209) 825-4331. Any groups interested in reserving dinners, should contact Jeff Liotard at (209) 823-1166.  Monetary donations to help pay for this event can be sent to Manteca Sunrise Kiwanis, PO Box 752, Manteca, CA  95336, and donations of Turkeys can be delivered to the Second Harvest Food Bank, 704 Industrial Park Drive, Manteca.