- The Larry H. Miller Company and Miller family will host a free Thanksgiving meal Nov. 24.
- Doors open at the Salt Palace Convention Center at 4 p.m.
- In addition to dinner, the event offers various free services for people and pets.
Larry H. Miller uttered a phrase before he died in 2009 at age 64 that has stayed with the family and the billion-dollar company he built.
“I don’t know how widely known it is but it’s certainly not a secret that on Larry’s deathbed he coined the phrase, ‘Go about doing good until there’s too much good in the world,’” said his son Steve Miller, the Larry H. Miller Company board chairman.
“He always operated in a place that when your own personal needs were met, it was your duty as a human being to turn and meet the needs of others around you.”
The Miller Company and Miller family does that in myriad ways throughout the state, including hosting their annual Thanksgiving meal and community resource event, now in its 27th year.
On Monday, they will turn an exhibition hall at the Salt Palace Convention Center into what Miller says has become a celebration and a party, complete with a live band. Doors open at 4 p.m.
They will serve a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, including turkey, ham, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, vegetables, dinner rolls and a dessert to anyone who walks through the door. They anticipate as many as 5,000 guests.
The 2025 Utah Homeless Services annual report found an 18% increase in Utah’s homeless population, with 4,584 people as of the past January. The Utah Food Bank estimates 1 in 8 Utahns, including 1 in 6 children, are food insecure.
How the event started
Serving a Thanksgiving meal started in 1999 on the concourse at the Delta Center when the Millers owned the Utah Jazz. Players, coaches and trainers served up turkey and mashed potatoes alongside Miller family members for maybe a couple of hundred people. It has grown since then.
“I don’t know that we knew when it began that it was going to become this thing for our family, but it has. It’s become something really meaningful and really significant to us,” Miller said.
And for the community.
But it’s not just about food. Guests can access a variety of free services, including health care and screenings, dental care, haircuts, veterinary care for pets, bike tune-ups, free books and clothes and criminal record expungement.
“We count ourselves incredibly blessed. I don’t like the word lucky here. We count ourselves incredibly blessed to be in a position to offer this type of help. And I need to be quick to add it’s not just us. We have lots and lots of community partners that step really quickly and offer up their services,” Miller said.
“It’s not something we do alone. We happen to be the catalyst early on but there’s a lot of people who are in lockstep with us who help make it happen.”
What services are available?
Those providing services are:
- Clark Planetarium: children’s activity
- Clean Slate Utah: record expungement
- Connect2Health: community resources
- Fourth Street Clinic: healthcare, mental health services and resources
- Friends for Sight: vision screenings
- Huntsman Mental Health Foundation: Mental health and substance use disorder resources
- Intermountain Health: breast cancer screening information
- Ruff Haven: veterinary services
- Salt Lake City Public Library: free books
- Salt Lake County Youth Services: children’s activity
- South Salt Lake Community Courts: legal services
- Thanksgiving Point: children’s activity
- The Bicycle Collective: bike check and tune-ups
- The Humane Society of Utah: pet sitting and resources
- The Policy Project’s Period Project: menstrual hygiene kits
- The Salt Lake City Mission: free clothing items
- United Way 211: community resources
- University of Utah School of Dentistry: dental services
- University of Utah’s Driving out Diabetes Initiative: diabetes screenings
- UTA: transit information and resources
- Utah Naloxone: overdose prevention and treatment resources
- Volunteers of America Utah: haircuts and community resources
In addition to more than two dozen Miller family members, those serving the meal include Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy, Gov. Spencer Cox, First Lady Abby Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson.