BY ROB DAVIS
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — For the third consecutive year, The Longest Table brought together members of the Opelika community the day before Thanksgiving for a delicious meal served by volunteers on the downtown Opelika square.
The free community event brings people together for a shared meal and fellowship. The event featured food prepared by volunteers and local restaurants as well as several long tables placed together to make one very long table, the event is quickly becoming a Thanksgiving tradition in Opelika.
According to The Longest Table founder and host Hannah Parker, she had no idea what to expect when the idea came to her three years ago.
“I told my husband, I said look, I feel like God is asking me to feed his people, but I don’t know what that looks like,” Parker said. “My husband said he would give me a thousand dollars and I was like okay, I can probably feed about 50 people with that.”
Parker served around 500 people that day. Some of the volunteers had to leave the serving line to go get more food. It quickly became obvious to Parker why God called her to serve.
“I was like wow, this community really needs this,” she said. “The idea is not just to give people food to take with them. We want to see people have some delicious food while sitting down at the table to mingle with other people from the community. We want to feed people and we also want to feed relationships in the community of Opelika.”
Parker, who is originally from Atlanta and is a hair stylist at Selah Salon in downtown Opelika, said that as a little girl growing up in Atlanta she always wanted to volunteer to feed people in need at Thanksgiving, but her mom said that it was a time to spend with family.
“I have a heart for service and I always knew that I needed to do something like this,” she said. “Three years ago we were getting ready for an election, we were coming out of COVID-19 and there was just a lot going on. I just felt like it was a good time to build community.”
According to Parker, one of the most heartwarming aspects of The Longest Table is the relationships that grow when people from different walks of life come together to share a meal.
“We’ve had people who have been coming since the first year,” she said. “It’s been like one big family sharing a potluck. It’s nice to see people link arms and feed and be fed. To build community we all have to be willing to reach out and make new friends.”
Parker said that besides his initial $1,000 donation, her husband Jeff is also a volunteer and her biggest cheerleader. As the event grows more volunteers will be needed to continue the fun. Anyone interested in volunteering can do so on The Longest Table in Opelika Facebook page.
“We’ll be out here next year,” Parker said, “Come see us, volunteer or just come out and share a meal with your community.”
