Nearly 200 meals served for Easter Dinner at Soup Kitchen 

By BOB MARTIN 

Eagle Times Staff 

CLAREMONT, N.H. — Nearly 200 meals were served at the annual Easter Dinner hosted by the Claremont Soup Kitchen on Thursday, where residents of all ages gathered to enjoy a free hot meal, mingle with friends and neighbors and receive a basket full of candy from the Easter Bunny. 

Executive Director Angela Bark said that in total, 193 people were at the dinner that went from 4 to about 6 p.m. The holiday dinners are always well attended by residents of Claremont and the surrounding communities, showing the need for this type of nourishment and companionship alike. 

“Being my first big dinner, it was quite successful in my eyes,” said Bark, who took over as the executive director on Jan. 27. “We had all the board members here, lots of volunteers, and it was a great night. Everything went smoothly.” 

In the kitchen, Sue Walker was once again in charge of the cooking, and there were volunteers from The Common Man on-hand to help with the serving. Decorations were organized by Ginny Baker, with the tables covered with purple tablecloths, vases with flowers in the middle and jellybeans and chocolates at the table. 

This year’s menu included ham with raisin sauce as the main course, which was complemented with mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, collard greens, carrots, salad, dinner rolls and assorted pies for dessert. 

“This was restaurant style, so they will come in and tell us how many is in their party, we seat them and take their order,” Bark said. “Also, our old director, Cindy (Stevens), came over to help throughout the day. It’s just a great group of people, and everyone comes together.” 

Bark said the day before the event, volunteers gathered at the Soup Kitchen to get everything prepared. For the big meal days, the Soup Kitchen still provides breakfast and lunch at the door, but they didn’t have anyone in the building until dinnertime. Much like the past dinners hosted by the Soup Kitchen, guests were lining up ready to eat and chat it up with friends both new and old. 

Thanks to the generosity of members of the community and area businesses, Bark said the Soup Kitchen didn’t have to really purchase anything other than some decorations and candy. Milk was donated by MacNamara Dairy from Plainfield, and other food items for the dinner were donated by Hannaford and Walmart in Claremont and BJ’s in Lebanon. The N.H. Food Bank provided food items, as well. 

“The frozen stuff, we started saving months ago,” Bark explained. “We got a shipment of hams that we put aside, and vegetables are put aside as they get near the date.” 

Bark said she was able to walk around and introduce herself to members of the public, some who had been to the Soup Kitchen and other brand-new faces.  

“Everyone was happy,” Bark said. “They all thought it was the best food ever, and the kids were so happy to have the Easter Bunny here dancing around and taking pictures. It was a good, happy vibe.” 

Holiday meals are such a big deal to the patrons of the Soup Kitchen, as it provides them a spot for a nutritious meal and also a chance to socialize. 

“We had a single guy’s table put aside for them for these guys who come in,” she said. “Then we had some family tables set aside. If two people would come in together, sit them together with another group of two. They would all get to talking and be smiling and happy.” 

Bark said it is great to see the volunteer effort put forth when it comes to these dinners. She noted that many of the volunteers have needed to utilize the Soup Kitchen themselves in the past, so this is a way to give back to their community. 

“It’s a really great, heartwarming experience,” Bark said. 

The Soup Kitchen is always looking for help and right now they are asking for spring middle and high school teams to volunteer on weekends. This provides for team building, a chance to show school spirit and also help the community. Volunteers are needed for Saturdays and Sundays from 2 to 5:30 p.m.  

To take part, contact Bark at [email protected].