It may be hard to come up with a reason to give thanks for the “blessings” of 2020. 

But, you can still do a “virtual” Thanksgiving. Have each person from your group of friends cook one of the traditional dishes of a Thanksgiving repast.

Whether home-made or store-bought, you and your virtual Thanksgiving group can divide the dishes into containers and gather together to distribute them amongst yourselves (while keeping proper social distancing, of course).

Have everyone take home the containers and warm up their food and gather around their computer screens while they eat during a Zoom meeting.

Of course, if you are able to gather a small group of family or friends, that’s reason enough to give thanks. While Thanksgiving celebrations will be different this year, as many people opt for small gatherings over large get-togethers, there are many options for those who don’t want to cook dinner. Local restaurants and food purveyors are offering up everything from main dishes to complete meals; some come fully prepared, others you finish off the cooking.

TooJay’s Deli is as ready as ever before to do the cooking. Thanksgiving dinner packages and à la carte menu options may be ordered for groups of all sizes. Dining options include; traditional turkey dinner (sliced oven-roasted turkey breast served with mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, turkey gravy and a fresh vegetable) for $15.99 per person and boneless ham (served with mashed potatoes, turkey gravy and a fresh vegetable) for $13.99 per person. A garden or Caesar salad may be added to dinner packages for an additional $1 per person. For those who wish to prepare their own feasts, a medium-sized, carved, turkey breast is available for $55 and a hickory-smoked, honey glazed, spiral-cut ham is $40. Traditional side dishes may be ordered by the pound, including glazed carrots, turkey gravy, green beans almandine, yams, mashed potatoes, and cornbread stuffing. Thanksgiving would be incomplete without dessert; TooJay’s offers such favorites, such as pumpkin pie, Key Lime pie, pumpkin spice cake and pumpkin cheesecake. Dessert platters with an assortment of sweets are also available. Orders must be placed by Nov. 21 for pick-up by Wednesday, Nov. 25.  For more information, visit TooJays.com.

Make Thanksgiving simple and let Sidecar Kitchen provide your Thanksgiving feast. Options include roasted homestyle turkey pot pie, butternut squash soup, a holiday salad with apple cider vinaigrette and dinner rolls with herb butter. The pot pie comes ready to bake. Dessert selections are equally yummy; white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake, bourbon pecan pie, salted caramel apple pie, chocolate mousse pie. Orders may be placed by calling 954-881-3203 or at sidecarkitchen.com.

MK Takeaways has an extensive Thanksgiving menu, priced per person or family-style. Meals are divided into four courses. Entrée highlights include sliced free-range turkey breasts, turkey roulade, prime rib, honey glazed ham, and maple rubbed salmon. Takeout orders can be picked up (12691 W. Sunrise Blvd. in Sunrise) or delivered. Go to mktakeaways.com.

You can even buy a turkey from Popeyes. The fast-food New Orleans-style chicken chain is taking preorders of its Cajun-style turkeys at participating restaurants nationwide, while supplies last. Prices start at $39.99. Customers can preorder by calling or visiting restaurants.

During this Thanksgiving season, over 1 million households throughout South Florida are experiencing food insecurity. Feeding South Florida, the leading domestic hunger-relief organization serving South Florida, is offering a way that the public can help those in need during this special holiday. Through the “Adopt-A-Family” program (through Nov. 23), anyone can provide a Thanksgiving meal box to a family of four for only $25. The meal box includes one turkey, fresh produce, traditional sides, gravy mix, and dessert mix. To adopt a family, visit feedingsouthflorida.org.

Boca Helping Hands is seeking help from the community for its 2020 Thanksgiving Box Brigade program, which provides turkeys and a box filled with everything a family needs to prepare a holiday meal. Boca Helping Hands normally distributes 2,000 turkeys and Thanksgiving meal boxes. This year, with the additional families that have registered for food assistance due to COVID-19, the organization needs help fulfilling all the requests. For more information, call 561-417–0913 or go to bocahelpinghands.org.

Rick Karlin is SFGN's food editor. Visit SFGN.com/Food to read his previous reviews. Have a culinary tip to share? Email Rick at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..