Jason Fletcher has offered free Thanksgiving meals from his eponymous Minneapolis ice cream shop since launching the business in 2018.

Fletcher’s Ice Cream and Cafe near Hennepin and University avenues will host its fifth annual Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday from 3-6 p.m.

The initial intent behind the meal was to offer community to young LGBTQ+ folks who have been ostracized from their families and don’t have anywhere to go on Thanksgiving.

“We all need that sense of family, that sense of belonging,” Fletcher said. “During the holidays, it can be really hard. I just wanted to be a safe place for queer youth to go and feel safe and happy and enjoy a meal.”

But the free meal has always been open to everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or familial relationships.

“This is also an opportunity for people to get to know their community, get to know the people around them, and create relationships with people who they maybe wouldn’t have met otherwise,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher estimates that fewer than 50 people came the first year in 2018 and about 150 grabbed a plate last year.

The community meal was forced to go on hiatus twice due to the COVID pandemic in 2020 and Fletcher’s move to its current location in the Nicollet Island-East Bank neighborhood in 2022.

Fletcher’s is planning for around 200 people this time around. If more people show up and food runs out, the business will post an update on social media.

The free meal includes turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, rolls, and pumpkin pie. There will also be vegan lentil loaf with gravy. 

Everything on Sunday’s menu will be made from scratch, with the exception of a big cookie platter donated by the neighboring Lunds & Byerlys store.

Fletcher really loves cooking for people – consider it one of his love languages. Seeing others enjoy a meal that he had a hand in fulfills him.

“Thanksgiving has always been really important to me and my family, and the idea of somebody not having family during Thanksgiving or not having a place to eat and enjoy a homecooked meal during this time of year just really kind of makes me sad,” Fletcher said. "It's just important to me that everybody gets that.”

Fletcher’s is still looking for a few volunteers who want to help serve food. Donations towards the Thanksgiving dinner are accepted in person and online but not expected.

Fletcher’s usual menu won’t be available Sunday from 3-6 p.m. as the Thanksgiving dinner takes place, but its ice cream counter will reopen at 7 p.m.

Fletcher’s Ice Cream & Cafe is located at 306 E. Hennepin Ave., where it’s open Tuesday through Sunday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The shop closes one hour earlier in the winter, though, so soon it will only be open until 9 p.m.