Volunteers with the United Way Spirit of Christmas Feast prepare meals to go out on Christmas (submitted photo/CHATNewsToday)

By Tiffany Goodwein

smile sunday

Local organization feeds over 200 this holiday season

Jan 2, 2022 | 10:29 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB- A local organization went out of its way to ensure that no one in Medicine Hat was alone or without food on Christmas.

The United Way Christmas feast served over 200 people this Christmas. Guests had the opportunity to dine in at the new Root Cellar Food and Wellness Hub on Maple Avenue or get their food delivered through one of their volunteers.

Jeremy Silver lead coordinator of the event said this year compared to last, their demographic of who serve has evolved.

” We had over 300 meals go out last year and the biggest factor was last year we had all the senior citizens call us. We got hundreds of phone calls from seniors literally crying on the phone saying they were trapped in their retirement living or they were trapped at home and they were terrified to leave,” he said.

This year, Silver said most of the people that participated were either single or young families. Out of the 200 meals served, 35 meals went to children.

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Turkey, stuffing and all the fixings was served to people at the United Way Spirit of Christmas Feast. At the in-person meal at the Root Cellar, about 40 people chose to dine in. Silver said for many of the guests getting to connect with others, lifted their spirits

“It was warm, it was friendly, it was what Christmas felt like before COVID-19 just on a smaller scale. We had campfire entertainment there doing music and karaoke. So we had wonderful music. We had some senior citizens who came to join us and everyone was really respectful of each others boundaries,” Silver said.

The United Way Christmas feast was in its ninth year and it was made possible through donations from local businesses.