Traditional Christmas fare for community dinner
Part of the organising team, Nikki Pritchard, left, Karlin Spiers and Vicki Spiers are getting into the festive mood for this year's community Christmas dinner at the Anglican Church on the Hill. <em>Photo: Anne Hardie.</em>
For more than a decade, volunteers and sponsors have given time and money to provide a traditional Christmas dinner for up to 200 people at the Anglican Church on the Hill in Richmond.
An organiser of the annual Christmas feast, Vicki Spiers, says more than 30 donors, mostly from the local business community, are supplying food, drink and decorations this year, while three shifts of volunteers will make it all happen on the day.
The midday lunch provides a choice of meats, hot vegetables, salads and, of course, the Christmas desserts. It follows pre-meal non-alcoholic drinks and nibbles with the opportunity to socialise with the local mayor, Tim King.
“It’s for anybody in the community - people in need, for any reason. They might be on their own, can’t afford it or from out of town. It’s for a whole raft of people in the community.”
One shift of volunteers will turn up on Christmas Eve to do food preparation, with another shift cooking the meal on Christmas morning and the third shift serving the meal at midday.
Vicki says they usually get between 150 and 200 people at the Christmas lunch and also get a good response from volunteers wanting to make it a success.
She has helped organise the event for about nine years and says it “rolls out a bit easier now”.
Anyone wanting to join the meal can get tickets from the Richmond Mall, Age Concern or the Church on the Hill office. A koha is requested be given on the day.