72 turkeys, 400 pounds of gravy: Sodexo goes all out for Thanksgiving

Sodexo needed 72 turkeys to get the ball rolling for the Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 18, according to Sodexo Manager Paul Bento.  

Sodexo aimed for a serving size of about 6 ounces of turkey per person; 700 pounds of turkey was estimated to serve about 1,800 people.

"The dinner was nice," said Audrey Collier, 21, a junior biochemistry major from Mass. "It could not have been any better, food wise."

"Sodexo did a great job preparing the meal," Collier says, "There were hardly any lines."

This is due to there being servers at every station ready to serve. This was done for the purpose of keeping lines down and to cut down on traffic through the food court.

Collier especially liked the cider. "Cider always makes it feel like its Thanksgiving." And she wasn't the only one to like the cider. According to Sodexo, students consumed about 88 gallons of the apple cider.

"The ham was very good, so was the stuffing," said Bobby DeLotto, 20, a junior criminal justice major from West Newbury, Mass. "Not too bad, better than most Sodexo meals."

During the meal, students consumed 250 pounds of ham and about 472 pounds of stuffing. The stuffing alone was able to serve 1,576 people.

And there was more.

Sodexo prepared 400 pounds of butternut squash, 350 gallons of gravy, 234 pounds of cranberry sauce, 450 pounds of potatoes, 1,600 rolls, 36 Italian loafs, 60 loaves of fruit breads and 1,750 slices of pie.

"I like having the Thanksgiving meals at Norwich," Collier says, "because it gives us a chance to hang out with our Rook buddies all at the same time."

Special meals like this bring Norwich students together.

"We can eat with the people that we consider family at the school," DeLotto said.