For half a century, Freeville Elementary has upheld one of its most beloved traditions: the Freeville Feast, an annual Thanksgiving celebration where students take an active role in preparing a homemade meal for the entire school community. This year marks the Feast’s 50th anniversary, and the milestone offered a moment to reflect on how a simple classroom activity grew into a treasured multigenerational tradition.
“It started out really as individual classes making certain things,” Freeville Feast co-founder Anne Cutia said. “We made applesauce, sour cream…things like that”.
As more classes joined in over the years, the experience naturally evolved into a schoolwide celebration, complete with homemade applesauce and trays of bread waiting to be torn into stuffing.
“We cooked all the turkeys at home, and we broke the bread into little pieces for the dressing,” co-founder Norma Tottman said. “The kids still mashed potatoes and did everything we had them do now”.
But the Feast has always been about more than the food. It has been an immersive learning opportunity for the students, one that blends nutrition, culinary skills, teamwork, and community. Students measured, mixed, stirred and tasted. They learned “what to eat” and “how to even make the things to begin with,” co-founder Dolores Hicks said, adding that “They could smell the applesauce cooking… the smell went all through the school”.
Fifty years later, the heart of the Feast remains the same: community.
“It was a wonderful time. We loved it so much,” Cutia reflected. “The parents were fantastic. It just drew everyone together. Everybody doing well. It's what it’s all about”.
As Freeville Elementary celebrates this 50-year milestone, the Freeville Feast continues to serve as a reminder of the incredible things that happen when students, staff, families and the community come together in partnership, a tradition deeply aligned with the district’s commitment to enriching learning experiences and building strong connections.