Fort Carson soldiers cook for the community

Fort Carson soldiers cooked for the community Tuesday in a mission to get 3,000 meals prepared by Thanksgiving Day.

The Salvation Army will pick up the meals Thursday morning and distribute them to people in need at the Fountain Valley Senior Center and the Salvation Army location on Yuma Street.

The soldiers started at 12 a.m. Monday morning de-thawing, cooking and carving turkeys. The volunteers will prepare 300 turkeys, amounting to 2,500 pounds of meat.

“It’s very rewarding when you are helping out the community,” said Mark Vickery with Fort Carson Culinary Academy. “It will be nice when it’s finally done because we will be working all night Wednesday to get everything finished up.”

Richard Larson is a major in the Salvation Army. He said the meals mean a lot to the people who receive them.

“It means somebody cares,” said Larson. “It means someone has taken the time to give them this meal and prepare it.”

It’s the 24th year the Salvation Army has teamed up with Fort Carson. The Salvation Army provides the food, butit depends on Fort Carson volunteers to cook the big feast.

Volunteers will also prepare 700 pounds of green beans, 150 pounds of mashed potatoes and 150 pounds of dressing.

The Salvation Army is looking for 500 store-bought pies or brownies to serve with the meals. People interested in donating can bring the store-bought items Tuesday through Thursday morning to the Salvation Army at910 Yuma St. in Colorado Springs.