St. Patrick Soup Kitchen offering free Christmas meals to Miami County residents

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TROY — The St. Patrick Soup Kitchen in Troy is again offering free Christmas Day dinners this year by delivering meals to Miami County residents homes, as in the past.

“We serve meals to all of Miami County on Christmas Day,” St. Patrick Soup Kitchen Director Dick Steineman said. “This is the 27th year for it.”

The meals will be delivered between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Christmas Day, Dec. 25. Steineman said they are expecting to again deliver around 1,200 meals.

“Last year we had right at 1,200 meals,” he recalled.

When the soup kitchen opened in 1996, it was decided they would do a Christmas Day dinner, Steineman confirmed. He also praised those who volunteer to help with their annual tradition of serving Christmas Day dinners.

“The volunteers are so helpful,” Steineman said. “We have about 100 volunteers who help, between drivers and in the kitchen.”

Debra Grant, volunteer coordinator and cook, said the menu for their Christmas Day dinner is sliced ham, mashed potatoes, seasoned green beans, a dinner roll, apple sauce and a piece of pie. The meal will come in different containers to keep the food separate, including one that is microwaveable. Some of the food will likely need to be reheated after delivery, as volunteers drive to all over Miami County.

Callers are asked to please leave a message with their name, phone number, their address and the number of meals requested that they would like delivered on Christmas Day. The phone number for the St. Patrick Soup Kitchen is 937-335-7939.

“The people are so sweet and some of them say thank you 10 times, on the recording, but then don’t leave a number or an address. So it breaks my heart because people are waiting all day for their food, but wont have a meal come because we don’t know where to go or a number to call back,” Grant said, emphasizing the importance of leaving a number and an address on the message. “And some people will say they wouldn’t have eaten if not for the food (delivered).”

Grant said volunteers cook and prepare the food the week prior to Christmas Day, so those who would like to place an order for a free Christmas meal are asked to order by Dec. 22 by calling 937-335-7939.

“We always do have enough (food),” Grant said when asked if they ever run out or usually have enough food. “But I can pull something from the freezer; however, we have so much of the original food, we’ve never had to do that.”

She noted that delivering the meals to people’s homes works better than other previous methods.

”It runs like a well oiled machine; it always works out and we always have extra meals,” Grant said.

The kitchen also serves a free meal every weekday between 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at 25 N. Mulberry St., Troy, inside the Hobart Community Kitchen. On Saturdays, a free meal is available between noon and 1 p.m. at the Terrance Ridge Apartments, 1312 McKaig Road, in the Kennedy Hall. People can arrive anytime within those hours.

Everyone is welcome. There are no requirements to eat there, and no one will ask you to register or ask for your information.

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