Noble's Sharing Holiday Bounty
Eric Swensen as seen in the Greensboro News and Record - November 2002
Sponsors of a Thanksgiving dinner for the needy are looking for volunteers to help serve the food.
After hosting a successful Thanksgiving dinner for the needy last year that drew about 170 people to his downtown restaurant, Jim Noble decided this year to expand the feast to all four of his North Carolina eateries.
The decision, he said, was a spiritual one: "That's what the Lord told me to do."
So this Thanksgiving, Noble's restaurants are expecting 800 to 900 people for dinner at locations in High Point, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Charlotte, including about 350 at Restaurant J. Basul Noble on South Main Street between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Noble, founder and co-owner of Noble's restaurant, sees it as a way to give thanks during the holidays; "We've been blessed, and we want to do something to reach out to the community."
Noble said the High Point feast wouldn't be possible without support from other sponsors, which include the High Point Community Foundation, Open Door Ministries, Rabbit Quarter Ministries and First Baptist Church. Another sponsor is Restoration Word Ministries, a radio evangelical and outreach ministry based in High Point and run by Noble and his wife Karen.
"It's really a big group effort," he said.
Noble and those charitable groups are asking for volunteers to serve the traditional Thanksgiving fare that includes turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.