FORT LIBERTY, NC – It was eleven in the morning on Thanksgiving Eve when Sgt. 1st Class Taylor Strack walked into the kitchen at the 3rd Special Forces Group Dining Facility and rolled up his sleeves. He’d spend the next 27 hours mashing mounds of potatoes and seasoning seemingly endless bags of stuffing, ultimately preparing 720 Thanksgiving meals for service members and families in the local Fort Liberty area, with help from only a handful of volunteers.
Cooking a holiday spread for those in need had long been a personal goal for Strack, who joined the Army in 2011 as a Culinary Specialist and now serves as the Enlisted Advisor to the Commanding General at the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Headquarters on Fort Liberty, North Carolina.
“I want to see people smile,” Strack said. “I want to make a difference.”
In September, Strack enlisted the help of Tawni Dixon, a USASOC Protocol Officer and military spouse with deep ties to the Fort Liberty community. She said if he could handle the cooking, she’d rally the support, and the two started planning their Thanksgiving outreach in their off time.
“I told him, I can make that happen. And he didn’t believe me,” Dixon laughed.
Dixon was right. Once she began making calls, the donations and community support started rolling in, ultimately allowing Strack and his team to prepare 36 turkeys, 100lbs of green beans, 115lbs of potatoes, 150lbs of stuffing and 1000 cookies.
“We were overwhelmed by the kindness of our community,” she said.
The hot meals were boxed up and hand-delivered by Dixon and other volunteers to barracks, guard shacks, homeless shelters, and personal doorsteps across the Fayetteville area. If someone requested a Thanksgiving meal, the small but mighty team of both soldiers and civilians made it happen.
Days after the outreach, Dixon received a message thanking her and Strack for their hard work.
“We are 7,000 miles away from family and had lost our daughter a year ago as she fought cancer,” one woman wrote. “The holidays are quite tough on us, and we are so grateful there are people out here who are kind enough to support others during this time.”
Strack’s eyes fill with tears when asked why he’d devote so much of his personal time to an effort that embodies selfless service and the spirit of the U.S. Army community.
“It’s a humbling experience when you start to learn to give back to people,” Strack said.
Over Strack’s 13-year Army career, he’s honed his culinary skills in kitchens across Belgium, Italy, Africa and Greece. U.S. Presidents, members of Congress, four-star generals and Afghan refugees escaping the Taliban during the withdrawal have all feasted on his meals.
Strack thrives in the kitchen, and he wants to share that gift with others.
“Food is a conversation starter. It can change the whole energy in a room,” he said.
While this year’s Thanksgiving Outreach was able to feed 750 people, Strack and Dixons have their sights set on even more impact in 2025.
“My dream is to get it to 5,000.” Strack said. “Anything for people to understand they’re not alone on a holiday.”
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