Open Table scheduled its Thanksgiving cook for the morning of Wednesday, November 11, at 33 Main Street in Maynard. Chef Luke Giroux and a team of volunteer cooks were set to fill trays with roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans and autumn squash. The plan called for 460 of those dinners and 140 vegan ones built around a lentil walnut stew with acorn squash. Every tray was to be frozen, and Open Table's Thanksgiving media advisory set distribution for the week of November 16. That is this week.
The Concord Turkey Trot is the town's most visible Thanksgiving fundraiser for Open Table, and it starts on Keyes Road at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 26. By then, the holiday dinners it is associated with will have been in clients' freezers for days. The money and canned goods collected that morning go to a pantry that has already finished its biggest week of the year and has December ahead of it. The rest of Thanksgiving week runs on that same calendar.
The week before the starting gun
A lot of what feeds the race happens before Thursday, on dates spread across two towns.
- This week, from November 16: Open Table hands out its 600-plus frozen Thanksgiving dinners. It is also distributing 400 grocery meal kits to households that want to cook their own meal. Each kit has frozen poultry, a bag of shelf-stable items such as cranberry sauce, gravy and stuffing mix, a bag of produce, and a dessert.
- Friday, November 20: Bib pickup opens at Marx Running, 423 Great Road in Acton.
- Saturday, November 21: The CCHS Thanksgiving Luncheon for Concord and Carlisle seniors runs from noon to 2 p.m. at 1276 Main Street, and doors open at 11:30, according to the town calendar.
- Monday, November 23: Turkey-only pickup at Verrill Farm, 11 Wheeler Road, for households that ordered ahead.
- Tuesday and Wednesday, November 24 and 25: Verrill Farm's curbside pickup for Thanksgiving orders, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday. Wednesday is also the last bib pickup day in Acton, and it closes early at 4 p.m.
- Thursday, November 26: Race-day registration opens at 7:30 a.m. on Keyes Road, and the race starts at 8:30.
Verrill Farm's ordering window closed at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 17, so those pickup slots apply only to orders already placed. The shirt deadline has passed too. Marx Running guaranteed a custom race shirt only to people who signed up by November 14. Later registrants get whatever sizes are left, first come, first served.
What the race money actually buys
Marx Running's event page says 100% of donations go directly to Open Table. Race proceeds also support local youth running programs. The race regularly draws more than 1,000 runners and walkers. Few local events reach that many households in one morning.
The scale of Open Table's year shows why the timing matters. According to Open Table's website, the nonprofit made 22,700 food distributions over the past year, 11% more than the year before, and gave out more than 925,000 pounds of food. Set against that, the 600 Thanksgiving dinners and 400 meal kits are a single, heavily planned week. Much of the rest runs on donated groceries. Open Table's 2026 holiday appeal says half of all its support comes from in-kind food donations.
Executive director Alex DePalo described the expected demand in the November media advisory:
"We expect a big turnout for both the grocery meal kits and pre-made frozen dinners. We know that many people are struggling to make ends meet, and we are here to help!"
Open Table runs a pantry in Maynard, mobile pantries, deliveries and prepared meals across central Middlesex County. It works in 21 municipalities, so a can dropped in a bin on Keyes Road can reach well beyond Concord.
Where a bag of groceries goes this week
The race has its own food drive. A tent and trailer sit outside Marx Running all week and come to the start on race morning. Items must be unopened and not expired. For anyone who won't be at the race, Open Table's grocery donation page lists five permanent drop-off points:
| Drop-off site | Address | When you can drop off |
|---|---|---|
| Open Table bin | 55 Church Street, West Concord | Any time, 24/7 |
| Crosby's Marketplace | 211 Sudbury Road, Concord | Store business hours |
| Open Table main facility | 33 Main Street, Maynard | Any time, 24/7 |
| Assabet Co-op Market | 86 Powder Mill Road, Maynard | Store business hours |
| Market Basket | 6 Digital Way, Maynard | Store business hours |
Crosby's is the easiest option for anyone already shopping for their own Thanksgiving. The store sells Open Table's Holiday Fixings bags, which are pre-packed with several of the pantry's most requested holiday items. You buy one, leave it in the drop-off bin by the store, and Open Table picks it up and distributes it. Open Table adds the turkey.
For anyone filling their own bag, Open Table says the items in high demand are cooking oil, ground coffee, tea, salt, sugar, flour, and hearty soups or stews. The holiday appeal says cooking oil, coffee and tea, and beans "always top the list." These are pantry basics a household goes through every week of the year, which suits a donation that arrives after the holiday meals have gone out.
Households that want a more personal project can join Open Table's Family-to-Family Gift Bag program. Participants register and get instructions and an item list for a gift bag for a local family or senior. Open Table is also asking for full-size grocery bags, Kids' Bags and kitchen volunteers this season.
The Acton errand that saves you a line on Thursday
The bibs are in Acton, at Marx Running, 423 Great Road. Marx keeps the counter open six days ahead of the race:
- Friday, November 20, and Saturday, November 21: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sunday, November 22: noon to 5 p.m.
- Monday and Tuesday, November 23 and 24: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 25: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Shirts are handed out with bibs, and you may pick up for other people, so one household member can collect for everyone. The trip is also a natural moment to drop groceries at the Marx food drive tent. Online registration on Marx's site is $40 for adults and $30 for children under 12. The $35 and $25 early rates ended October 29. You can also register in person at the Acton store. Marx says race-day registration will be limited and encourages signing up early.
Thursday morning on Keyes Road
Race morning in order, using what the organizers and the town have published:
- 7:30 a.m. Same-day registration opens at the start on Keyes Road. Marx advises arriving early for race-day pickup to avoid long lines.
- Parking. Use the town center and the town lots on Keyes Road and Walden Street.
- Before the start. Leave the dog at home, because the event is asking for no pets this year. Costumes and walkers are welcome.
- 8:30 a.m. The race starts on Keyes Road and finishes there too. Marx says the course is the same as last year's and links a Garmin course map. Results from earlier years are filed under 5K.
- 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. For drivers, the town's 2025 Turkey Trot traffic advisory warned of delays and road closures on Lowell Road and Monument Street during that hour. The course hasn't changed, so that hour is the one to plan Thanksgiving-morning driving around. Watch the town's news page for this year's notice.
Awards go to the top three male and female finishers overall. Age groups run from 0 to 10 up through 90 and over, and the top three in each receive awards as well. Medals aren't all handed out at the finish. Winners can collect them at Marx Running starting the Friday after the race, which turns Black Friday into one more errand on Great Road.
The 24/7 bin at 55 Church Street in West Concord stays open after the race, and so does the Open Table bin at 33 Main Street in Maynard. Both accept the oil, flour, coffee and soup the pantry asks for, any day through December.
At Nancy Cole Team, we live and work in Concord, and we follow the town's calendar through the year, from Thanksgiving morning on Keyes Road to the start of the winter season. If the holidays have you thinking about what next year could hold for your home, request a confidential market consultation whenever it suits your schedule.