A Free Thanksgiving Meal, No Questions Asked

Since 2020, Renato's Italian Restaurant in downtown Fredericksburg has delivered free holiday meals. Now, it can reach more people thanks to donations from local businesses.

By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Volunteers pack and deliver Thanksgiving meals prepared by Renato's last year. Photos courtesy Elisa Bonilla.

Four years ago, during the first Thanksgiving of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team at Renato’s Restaurant prepared and delivered 225 meals to quarantined senior citizens and healthcare workers.

Though that immediate crisis is over, many in the Fredericksburg area are still struggling to afford food on a daily basis, not to mention during the holidays. Elisa Bonilla, whose family has owned Renato’s Italian restaurant in downtown Fredericksburg for almost 47 years, says the business is still here to help.

Renato’s is now accepting requests for this year’s Thanksgiving meals, which are available to anyone who fills out the Google form. There are no specifications, requirements, or income limits.

“If you need a meal, you need a meal,” Bonilla told the Advance. “No questions asked.”

Last year, Bonilla said, the restaurant prepared and delivered almost 1,000 Thanksgiving meals—turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, rolls, stuffing, a piece of pumpkin pie, and a soda. 

“We’re hoping to reach 1,000 people again this year,” she said.

The team has distributed an increasing number of meals each year after 2020, purchasing all the ingredients themselves. They expected to max out at around 400 last year, until the effort received a significant financial boost thanks to a $500 donation from Mike King, owner of Ray’s Siding.

“He challenged his friends to match what he did, and the more we raised, the more we could up the number of meals we could provide,” Bonilla said. “Because of having King and his friends help out, we were able to reach 1,000 people.”

All the meals are prepared in the restaurant kitchen by staff and delivered the following day by volunteers, Bonilla said.

“We have about 50 volunteers, between packing the meals and then getting the meals ready and then the delivery drivers,” Bonilla said. “If you can’t come pick up the meal, we will have people to drop them off for you.”

Last year, the team traveled as far as Colonial Beach and Caroline County to deliver meals, in addition to Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Fredericksburg.

Bonilla took over management of the family-owned restaurant about 12 years ago, and as the business neared its 40th anniversary, she made a conscious effort to start giving back to the community.

“The community has given us everything and it’s time to give back,” she said. “My thing is, kids should never lose out on the magic of the holidays because their family is struggling.”

As well as Thanksgiving meals, Renato’s delivers presents at Christmas, baskets at Easter, and backpacks during back-to-school.

“We sent out about 300 backpacks this year,” Bonilla said. “I remember being little and you’re just so proud of a new backpack. It just starts your year out right.”

Renato’s also provides free spaghetti dinners to children during the summer between 3 and 5 p.m.

“We want to make sure kids are being fed,” Bonilla said. “Not everybody has our luck, so when schools are closed a lot of kids don’t eat. So, they can come by, and they get a spaghetti meal, an apple, juice, and a snack, no questions asked.”

To request a Thanksgiving meal, fill out this Google form.

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