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Volunteers, city and businesses revive ‘Mister Bob’ Thanksgiving tradition, serve nearly 2,000 meals
Summary
Emily Allen described how volunteers, local businesses and the city worked in three weeks to preserve the long-running Mister Bob Thanksgiving meal, serving nearly 2,000 diners and honoring the event’s founder with a proclamation during the celebration.
Emily Allen told the Carnegie Library audience that she and two other parents organized a last-minute effort to sustain the long-running Mister Bob Thanksgiving community meal after the event lost its prior venue in October 2024.
“I was able to connect with Mayor Raya Peddy, the Moline Police Department, and city administration to discuss how to get the event back up and running,” Emily Allen said during her remarks, describing rapid coordination with city staff and local partners.
Allen said organizers estimated nearly 2,000 diners and worked with Mercado on 5th and other partners to secure a space and funding. She credited in-kind and financial support from RIA Federal Credit Union, the City of Moline Human Rights Commission, local dealerships and other donors and said roughly 100 volunteers helped run the meal; she said organizers had to turn some volunteers away because of the large volunteer turnout.
Allen said Mister Bob attended the event from start to finish and that, during the celebration, the city surprised him with a proclamation honoring his work. The organizers said they are forming a 501(c)(3) to formalize the event going forward and are planning to continue the tradition in future years.
Why it matters: Mister Bob’s Thanksgiving meal is a long-standing community event the speaker described as welcoming to anyone in need of food or company on Thanksgiving. The event’s revival required coordination among volunteers, the city and local businesses and indicates ongoing civic capacity for large volunteer-run community programs.
Ending: Allen said organizers are still planning logistics and legal structure for the event and are establishing a nonprofit to secure the tradition in coming years. Details about the proclamation (text and adoption process) and the 501(c)(3) timeline were not specified during the address.
