CALDWELL, Idaho — La Cocina, a family-owned catering business in Caldwell, did something really special this Thanksgiving. The Aviles family organized a free holiday dinner with food for all.
"Everybody's invited. We are not charging anything at all, everything's free," said Jose Aviles, owner of La Cocina.
"So, we're doing a community Thanksgiving dinner! We are inviting everyone here from Caldwell," said Joanna Aviles, also an owner of La Cocina. "We are hoping to serve at least 300 people!"
But siblings Jose and Joanna Aviles are quick to mention they didn't do it alone. They had a lot of help from so many friends in Caldwell.
"It's 100 percent free because we've been sponsored by different friends and family in the community," said Joanna Aviles, La Cocina owner.
They got the word out to the public on social media, and no one was turned away.
"No one, no one! Everyone is more than welcome," said Joanna.
They served traditional Thanksgiving menu items, and an array of cultural holiday favorites, too.
"We have posole, we have tamales, we have turkey, ham and chicken, tamales, you name it," said Jose Aviles. "Oh, I love it! Everybody loves it, everybody loves the smell of the food and everybody's happy."
This dinner is an act of love from the Caldwell community. Joanna said when she put the word out for support, her circle of volunteers delivered.
"Everybody that you see here, they said what do you need? That was amazing it was like somebody pinch me," said Joanna. "Everyone started offering food, and their time."
"It's all volunteer work, it's the fire department, we have our Caldwell Police, we have churches, we have people from all over the community who come and help out. They love to do the same thing that we do, which is help out and give, especially on days like this we have to give," said Jose.
The goal now is to keep this going year after year.
"I hope this is the first of many more years to come, and we will continue building it and making it bigger," said Joanna. "I'm thankful for every single person here, and it shows you how tight of a community we are."
La Cocina wants to thank everyone who donated to the event, and helped volunteer to make it happen.