For the week of Thanksgiving, Forest Hills has shown gratitude to its community in various ways, especially through the annual Thanksgiving potluck hosted by Queens Community House – Forest Hills Community Center. As one of the most diverse communities in the world, Queens has utilized Thanksgiving in a way that has proven to be one of the most crucial and impactful holidays for showcasing thankfulness and representation among individuals who fund, participate, and uplift these community centers.

This potluck was on Nov. 25, 2025, and was open to anybody who wished to come. Many individuals brought their own food to the potluck, resulting in a wide variety of dishes and cultures.

This potluck had coordinators, facilitators, and student volunteers who helped set up the decorations, food, activities, and music.

Ali, one of the facilitators from the youth program, Access for Young Leaders (AFYL), was able to offer insight on this event.

“QCH has a number of programs in the whole department. They work with older adults, youth services, elementary schools, people who need help with housing, immigration, language, and all sorts of programs… So, [this potluck] is just a chance to gather,” Ali says.

Grace, one of the main coordinators for this potluck, also adds, “We intentionally make this event open for the entire community, so even if they’ve never received services from us, they now have a reason to come into our center and be part of our community.”

When asked about the food, Ali continues, “I believe everyone’s supposed to bring a dish… I think some things have been donated.”

Grace contributes, “We purchased rice and chicken, and we saw folks bring in all types of food from Chinese-style fish to Puerto Rican pernil to Flan and pumpkin bread.”

To follow up, Ali delves into the activities at the potluck, “If we have any young kids, our [Access for Young Leaders] group will be leading some sort of crafts.”

This potluck also had a turkey mascot, which attracted the attention of many young children and families. It was responsible for greeting people at the door, announcing Bingo winners, taking photos with people at the potluck, and overall bolstering the mood of the event.

Behind the costume, however, was long-term volunteer and current QCH employee, Fedora.

When faced with the question of whether the potluck has changed since the previous year, Fedora replies, “It has changed, but I would say in a good way because we have learned from what we did last year. So now, I think it’s way better because statistically, we had a lot more people this year.”

In terms of what the potluck means to her, Fedora continues, “The potluck means everything to me. I can’t wait to come here, even if I’m not working or even if I’m not a part of backstage. I’m always looking forward to being here because it’s something that I absolutely love, not only for the bingo cards, but also just having fun with my community.”

However, Forest Hills has also been known to do several other potlucks for the month of Thanksgiving, catering to other programs within the center.

Ali says, “Last week, there was a potluck for the elementary school program and for the parents of that program. It’s just a chance to welcome the community and ideally have an overlap of different departments to see how they all interact. You know, we have a lot of older adults here who really enjoy being around the younger kids or the high school-age kids. So, it’s a chance for people who may only know one part of QCH to learn about other services that we have.”

When asked how the potluck benefits the community, Grace answers, “Our center is located in between two communities with high immigrant populations, so it gives those folks a way to experience an American holiday and meet more neighbors.”

As for final thoughts, Ali shares, “Everyone knows that they’re here to build community. [It’s] really important because people need human connections. There are ways to expand your world through the community. 
And I hope the potluck does that for some people.”

In other words, everyone has their own unique life, whether it’s differentiated through hardships or victories. Despite that, Queens Community House, or more specifically, Forest Hills Community Center, continues to work to bring people together and find that common ground through these special events revolving around the holiday of Thanksgiving.