It was all hustle and bustle at the Kelowna Gospel Mission on Saturday as staff and volunteers prepared a Christmas feast for up to 700 people.
Kitchen Manager Jackie Sear says preparations for the annual meal began weeks ago.
“We start cooking about a month in advance,” Sear said. “We break the turkeys down and put them in gravy and freeze them. The hams were cut two days ago and the gravy, I start a couple days early.”
Sear says the festive meal requires 40 turkeys, 16 hams, approximately 500 pounds of mashed potatoes, 500 dinner rolls and about 80 kg of frozen veggies.
A crew of about 50 staff and volunteers spent the afternoon preparing plates, serving the meals and chatting with guests.
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Many people who came for the meal are either homeless or used to be and once relied on the services of the Gospel Mission.
They say they are grateful for the meal.
“I have nowhere else to go,” said Jerry Carter. “I am far from home. It thought I would spend Christmas here instead of going all the way home.”
“You can see a couple friends around here and you just spend a good time with them,” said Chris Eufresne.
Karen Billyboi brought her three-year-old daughter to the festive meal.
Billyboi says she enjoys the communal feel of the dinner.
“I love it. I’m so glad they have dinners like this,” she said.
Randy Benson, executive director of the Kelowna Gospel Mission, says more and more people have been coming for the Christmas meal over the years.
“A lot of people that still have to make the choices between food or rent or utilities, they just don’t have the extra income to do a holiday meal,” he said.
Benson says it is important to remember the spirit of giving during Christmas.
“It is a time when oftentimes need is more keenly felt and so we want to make sure those who might not have can at least enjoy a Christmas dinner,” he said.
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