T-R Photo by Noah Rohlfing People wait outside of The House of Compassion in Marshalltown for the soup kitchen to serve its daily meal at 5 p.m. The HOC will still do a Thanksgiving meal as it did last year, but it will be to-go instead of a sit-in meal due to COVID restrictions.

Almost nothing is the same as it was before 2020 for Thanksgiving.

When the holiday rolls through Thursday, there will not be a big Salvation Army lunch as there has been for years. Instead of the meal, the Salvation Army distributed meal boxes to over 100 people Tuesday and Wednesday in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19 but still spread holiday cheer for those in need.

There’s a second yearly Thanksgiving day meal in Marshalltown for those in need, and it’s making changes too — although it’s still taking place at its usual time.

The House of Compassion at 11 W. Church St. will still have its traditional Thanksgiving meal at the same time as its daily dinner services — 5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., according to Assistant Director Maryna Salas.

“It’s just to take home, it’s not to eat here because of COVID restrictions,” Salas said. “We package with foam plates and put everything in a bag, and then people can take it home.”

The soup kitchen, which used to be a homeless shelter in a previous iteration, regularly serves dinner at 5 p.m. from Sunday through Friday. But in accordance with COVID-19 restrictions and in an effort to make sure those who need the daily meals can still get them, customers are not allowed inside the house. Instead, Salas said, they have been told to wait outside until 5 p.m. in a socially-distanced line. From opening until closing time, they will give each person in line a bag with the meal of the day inside.

It’s been a tough transition for both the HOC and those who show up for the service, and Salas said the number of meals served each night has increased during the pandemic. They expect an increase to continue throughout the holiday season and the end of 2020.

This comes as the number of volunteers has gone down. That’s partly due to people not wanting to take the risk of exposing themselves to the virus partly down to the House choosing to limit the number of people involved on any given night.

As for the Thanksgiving meal, Salas said they’re preparing for a large number of people to come through.

“I think we will have enough for 75 to 100 people,” Salas said. “The people who want to eat turkey who usually go to the Salvation Army meal will come here, which is why we are prepared.”

Salas said they’ll plan to do the same thing for Christmas and on Christmas Eve.

In a year where everything has turned upside down and more people than ever in Iowa are in need, the House of Compassion is continuing to do its part.

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Contact Noah Rohlfing at nrohlfing@timesrepublican.com