TROY — The St. Patrick Soup Kitchen in Troy will offer its free Christmas Day Lunch on Monday, Dec. 25, delivering meals to Miami County residents’ homes for the 28th year in a row.

“We serve meals to all of Miami County on Christmas Day,” St. Patrick Soup Kitchen Director Dick Steineman said. “It’s been 28 years; we’ve always done Christmas.”

“We call it a Christmas Lunch; it’s a dinner-type of meal,” volunteer coordinator and cook Debra Grant said. “It’s turkey, creamy mashed potatoes; we add sour cream and cream cheese, they’re not just like instant mashed potatoes, seasoned green beans, a dinner roll, pumpkin pie and applesauce.”

“It’s a delicious, home-cooked meal that is prepared here,” she said. “All of the meals are delivered to the doors of folks who order them.”

The meals will be delivered between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, Grant said. The soup kitchen delivers approximately 1,200 to 1,500 meals each year during the Christmas Lunch.

“We normally do somewhere in the range of up to 1,500 meals,” she said.

Those who would like to place an order for a free Christmas meal are asked to order by Saturday, Dec. 23 by calling St. Patrick Soup Kitchen at 937-335-7939.

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.

When the St. Patrick Soup Kitchen opened in 1996, it was decided they would do a Christmas Day dinner, Steineman said.

The soup kitchen also serves a free meal every weekday from 4:30 p.m. 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 Terrace Ridge Apartments, 1312 McKaig Avenue. 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.