By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — The Claremont Soup Kitchen has already seen an uptick in families served, and Executive Director Cindy Stevens expects a full house on Thursday for the annual Christmas dinner that is free to the public.
“Last month alone there were 25 new families who signed up for food boxes,” Stevens said. “We’ve definitely seen a lot of new families come in. It’s always a tough time with people trying to provide for Christmas and heating bills.”
There was a line out the door for the Thanksgiving meal last month, and Stevens said there will surely be more of the same with hundreds of meals served.
With the cost of living growing at astronomical rates, the holiday season can be especially hard on families. Fortunately, the Soup Kitchen has things covered with a ham dinner that will include mashed potatoes, butternut squash, peas and an array of desserts. Stevens said the hams came in on donation through Feed America.
“This year I’ll be doing the cooking, and actually with the cook who was originally there when I started the at the Soup Kitchen,” Stevens said, noting that she will be cooking the meal along with Roy Stone. “Roy and I always worked together on the meal. This was back when we didn’t have as many volunteers. Now we have an amazing group of volunteers, and a lot of them.”
Those attending will be able to come inside, grab a seat with family and friends, or perhaps sit down and make a new friend over a delicious meal. Stevens said there will be Common Man employees helping, as well as members of the Soup Kitchen Board of Directors and the Department of Health and Human Services. The Soup Kitchen also has faithful volunteers who help throughout the week, and they will be serving and helping so everything runs smoothly.
Dinner will start being served at 4 p.m., but at 4:30 p.m. Santa Claus will be arriving and handing out stockings and handmade wooden toys to children.
“There’s just nothing greater than seeing a smile on a kid’s face,” Stevens said. “It’s the best feeling. They’re so excited and you’ll see, there will be a line of them waiting to see Santa and get their stocking.”
Stevens said since Santa could cause for a bit of excitement, anyone looking for take outs should arrive closer to 4:45 p.m. Dinner will be served until 5 p.m. The Claremont Soup Kitchen is located at 51 Central Street.
For more information log onto claremontsoupkitchen.org or call 603-543-3290.
