Volunteers Serve Up Kindness, Christmas Dinners

By MADDY VITALE Volunteers at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church in Ocean City took trays and bags filled with Christmas dinner to a van to hand out to those less fortunate on the holiday. People went to the church at 501 E. Eighth Street for a “Christmas Community Take-Out Dinner.” Each person received whatever number of meals they needed to feed their families. In each plastic tray was a ham dinner, complete with green beans and sweet potatoes and desserts, all courtesy of local businesses. Bags filled tables inside of St. Peter’s stuffed with tasty sides of applesauce, rolls and dessert. Students from the Primary School as well as the Ocean City High School Key Club made Christmas cards to go with the meals. St. Peter's Church Pastor Eric Hall organizes bags filled with sides for the Christmas meals. St. Peter’s Church Pastor Eric Hall noted that the take-out dinners would not be possible without the strong support of the community. Dinners were provided by OCNJ CARE, St. Peter’s United Methodist Church, Nobil Catering and many other generous contributors. “It’s really a collaborative effort,” Pastor Hall noted. “We are just thankful to be able to serve and partner with others in the community to provide meals on this important day.” Jen Bowman, who is in charge of the food ministry at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church, and a host of other church members and volunteers, took over providing the dinners after organizers Mike and Peaches Lukens retired in 2019 from the event they created 30 years ago. Since then, all of the meals given out at St. Peter’s are courtesy of Bill McGinnity, of Nobil Catering, and other local businesses, as well as the charitable organization, OCNJ CARE, headed by Ocean City resident Drew Fasy. Dave Boston, of Ocean City, says he really appreciates the meals. Dave Boston, of Ocean City, stood in line for the dinner, just as he had last month, for Thanksgiving. Boston explained that both last year and this year have been extremely tough for him. He has worked in the restaurant business for years and has had difficulty finding work. “COVID is making it tougher. It has been a hard year,” Boston said. He said that he appreciates the meals. “Finding work has been very hard,” he said. He was reluctant to take more than one dinner, despite volunteers saying he could have a second. “The Christmas dinners are good. I am really glad they do this. It is a good idea,” Boston said. Boston thanked the volunteers and took the meals and went on his way. Volunteers Tina Curione, left, and Kathy Thompson, along with Judy Warner, in back, volunteer each year. Other people in need waited for the volunteers to hand them dinners. Kathy Thompson, a member of St. Peter’s Church, is one of the organizations of the take-out dinners. She was busy making sure everything was running smoothly as she handed out meals from the back of the van. One woman asked for three dinners for her family. A man pulled up with his dog and asked for three meals. Volunteers said there were certainly plenty of meals for everyone who needed one. “We have 350 meals all packed up and ready to go,” explained longtime volunteer Joanne Budnick, a member of the church who helps out every year. “We will probably have some left over that we will give to people who need it.” Volunteer Joanne Budnick helps each year.