Loveland’s Free Thanksgiving Dinner Has Been Going Strong for Over 25 Years

The holidays are a time about giving and Loveland has been giving out a free Thanksgiving dinner since the year 2000. Coloradans can be proud of what a small group have worked on for so many years, feeding so many people.

2025 marked the 25th year of this free meal, where people can come sit down and enjoy, or have it delivered to them (within the Loveland area). It's hard to imagine exactly how many people have enjoyed the dinner after so many years, but it's definitely more than 10,000. I, myself, don't recall knowing about it until I saw a flyer about in 2025.

According to the Reporter-Herald, the Ann Jenson Memorial Community Free Thanksgiving Dinner takes 10 months of planning and 150 volunteers to pull off at the Associated Veterans Club in Downtown Loveland. I've been inside that building, as have many. It seems like tight quarters for serving so many people, but it must work as they haven't moved it since it began.

Who Was Ann Jenson in Loveland, Colorado?

Ann Jenson, who passed away in 2014, spearheaded this Free Thanksgiving dinner in 2000 in association with the (existing at that time) Disabled American Veterans auxiliary. That first year saw about 50 people; 20+ years later, nearly 1,000 are served, either at the Associated Veterans Club or in their homes.

It costs over $7,500 to pull off the annual free dinner that's served 11:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day; they take donations from the public through PayPal. People can also donate physical items, such as the food items needed, and other supplies such as bags, spoons, duct tape, etc. You can find out more about receiving a meal at home, donating, and volunteering here.