By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — The Easter Bunny will be on-hand at the Claremont Soup Kitchen’s annual Easter Dinner on April 17, where children will walk away with an Easter basket while they dine for free with their friends and families.
“Everyone will be seated like they’re going to a restaurant, and when they get to their table they will have a menu handed out with normal Easter meal items,” said Executive Director Angela Bark, who is taking part in her first holiday dinner in her new role as the Claremont Soup Kitchen’s director.
The Soup Kitchen will be serving ham with raisin sauce as the main course, which will be complemented with mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, collard greens, carrots, salad, dinner rolls and assorted pies for dessert.
“This way there are some options, and people can either pick and choose what they want or circle all,” she said.
Prior to the event, on Sunday, April 13, residents are invited to help put together Easter baskets to distribute to children who attend the dinner. This will be done in an assembly line format to get the baskets done, with different tiers based on age groups. This means there will be baskets for infants and middle-aged kids, but also for teenagers who will receive gift cards and a chocolate rabbit.
New Hampshire Sneaker Brigade is a local nonprofit here run by one of the Soup Kitchen volunteers, Jennifer Snide, and they will be leading the charge on this endeavor. Bark said there will be about 100 baskets made.
A big turnout is expected for the event, much like the Fall Breakfast and the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Each time there were lines out the door for people looking to enjoy a hot meal with friends. Board members, volunteers and patrons all commented on how these dinners are so important for people in the community for holidays. Some people may not have families to dine with, and they have been able to sit down with a neighbor and have a chat while chowing down on a meal made with love.
A key component to the dinner is the volunteer effort put forth, with many involved consistently throughout the year, and others assisting for these kinds of major events. They do the prepping, cooking and serving, while getting a chance to give back to the community they are a part of.
In honor of these 150 or so volunteers, the Claremont Soup Kitchen will be holding a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on May 13 at the Senior Center, as well. Dinner, which will be prepared by Bark and members of the board of directors, will be served at about 5:30 p.m. Throughout the evening there will also be awards and recognitions given to volunteers for their efforts.
“I’ll give a speech, a couple board members will give a speech, thanking the volunteers and then we will hand out certificates of excellence and things like that,” she said. “It’s a chance to show our appreciation.”
The Easter Basket preparation will take place on April 13 at 1 p.m. The Easter Dinner follows on Thursday, April 17 at 4 p.m., and both events take place at the Claremont Soup Kitchen located at 51-53 Central Street.
