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TILTON – The first year Brandon Bott decided to offer Thanksgiving dinner to local families, he gave away 25 meals. Last year he donated 150.
Today it will distribute 350 meals and registration is still open.
Bott, owner of Tilton-based B&B Construction, will facilitate the company’s eighth annual Thanksgiving dinner from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Hodge Street office.
Registrants will receive a whole turkey, 5 pounds of potatoes, a loaf of bread, frozen vegetables and cans of green beans and corn.
“This is a meal they and their family don’t have to worry about,” Bott said Monday. “It means a lot to me, just to be able to give back, because at one time I couldn’t even feed myself.”
Bott estimated the event will feed more than 2,000 people and said the company doesn’t tend to turn anyone away.
People can still sign up until 3.50pm today by messaging the company on Facebook and sharing their name, phone number, address and personal situation.
Bott said the giveaway dinner is intended to help families who have struggled financially this time of year. He first got the idea to do it in 2015, when a handful of people who worked for him asked if they could borrow money to get food for Thanksgiving.
Instead, he decided to treat everyone to a Thanksgiving meal and keep the tradition alive every year. The funding comes from the donations accumulated during the year by the large Bott family and B&B corresponds to what is donated.
Other support comes from Midtown Redi Mix Co., a cement company owned by Bott, and volunteers from the Mid State Blaze Softball Team, a team that Bott coaches and on which his daughter plays. The Tilton Police Department also helps, he said.
“It’s great, but it’s almost not believable until it happens,” Bott said. “It gives you chills.”
