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Lancaster County volunteers give out free Christmas meals

LANCASTER, Pa. — In a season of giving,  volunteers were spreading holiday cheer by offering free Christmas meals to people in Lancaster County. They said...

LANCASTER, Pa. -- In a season of giving,  volunteers were spreading holiday cheer by offering free Christmas meals to people in Lancaster County. They said the most rewarding part is to give back to their community.

Thirteen locations in Lancaster County served free meals Friday to hundreds of people. The volunteers who provided the food said they do it because the holidays are about helping others.

Joe McFarland, a volunteer at Cross Roads Brethren Church, said, "When we think about Christmas, we think about giving. And if we can give back to people and touch their lives and give them a happy time on Christmas Day, that's the most meaningful."

Not only did it mean a lot to the people they were serving, it means a lot to the volunteers at Water Street Mission.

Carmen Morales, the supervisor of the kitchen at Water Street Mission, said, "This means a lot to me because this is the greatest time to be able to serve the people with love, with your heart, with who you are. So we're not only serving food, we're serving love."

Ed Osborn, a volunteer at Water Street Mission, said, "You come down, you help the people, you see the people that don't really have anything and you have to give back."

The event organizer at St. Anne's Catholic Church said volunteers have been doing this for years, the tradition in their families passed down from generation to generation.

Ted Dzubinski, the event organizer, said, "We have a lot of families that are volunteers that have five and six of their children and their children's children. So we even have some grandchildren here that are now serving the tables like their mom and dad and their mom and dad did.

And giving out meals doesn't just have to be for people in need.

McFarland said, "We thought initially it'd be people who could not provide their own Christmas meal on Christmas Day. But mostly we see a lot of people who don't have family in the area, can't travel, just look for fellowship."

Many of the places open for a free Christmas meal will also be open for a New Year's Day meal.

 

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