For the third year, New Freedom Farm in Buchanan hosted a Thanksgiving Day lunch for veterans and those with no other place to go for the day.

Lois Fritz, who owns the farm that caters to veterans suffering from service-related challenges, was delighted to have 155 people gather in the horse barn for the meal.

“We had 28 people in 2016, 60 people in 2017 and 155 people in 2018,” she said. “Everything was amazing. We had veterans from all over the USA; from shelters, organizations, and other veteran programs were present,” she said. In a Facebook post she note, “The greatest thing was said, ‘This will be a Thanksgiving I will never forget, I can’t believe no one is related here, it appears as if everyone is family!’”
For Fritz, it was a confirmation of her efforts to help veterans. “Reality is I have been a broken soul and my dream was to create exactly what happened on Thanksgiving…no one alone, to feel like you belong…people from all walks of life sat together! Just goes to show we all can get along, we can love unconditionally and we can be reminded we are never alone. My goal is to save another life for them to know they are loved and life worth living!”
Fritz said the day was made possible by many volunteers who brought food, cooked food, set up and took down tables and chairs. She cited the catering equipment, a donated van for transportation and the volunteers taking care of the equines while others are working with humans.  She said donations from across the country helped make the event possible.

— Ed McCoy