Westman Traditional Christmas Dinner feeds thousands

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This article was published 28/12/2021 (1558 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Volunteers rallied to deliver around 2,500 holiday meals Saturday, marking the return of the Westman Traditional Christmas Dinner.

Christmas Dinner co-ordinator Gladden Smith has been helping bring hot meals to Brandonites on Christmas Day for more than 30 years.

It was exciting to be back in the community, he said, as last year the campaign was organized with Everyone Eats due to COVID-19. Organizers are working to adjust to the new reality of the pandemic, with the ultimate goal of being able to host deliveries and in-person dinner service in 2022.

“We’re having to do things a lot different, as far as checking and making sure everyone is double vaccinated, wears a mask and uses hand sanitizer. It’s things that we’ve never had to do in the past,” Smith said. “But it’s like we’ve never missed a beat. Everybody is here and everybody is ready to roll.”

It was challenging last year being unable to participate in the annual event because volunteers were used to gathering to bring the Traditional Christmas Dinner to the community. Smith and his wife made about 40 Christmas meals to hand out on their own in Brandon in 2020 because it did not feel like the holiday season without helping others.

During the Christmas dinner, you can feel the camaraderie between volunteers as they packed up meals, Smith said, adding many have been participating in the event for many years.

“They’re so happy to be back because lots of them don’t have anybody to be with on Christmas Day, so this is their Christmas. They come and volunteer and get to spend the day enjoying some fellowship with all the other people.”

When the supper was able to take place in person, music would fill the dining hall, people would gather and presents would be handed out for children in attendance.

While the atmosphere of this year’s iteration of the supper was different, he said, the core of camaraderie and fellowship could still be felt during the dinner prep. Volunteers were united in the cause of helping spread the holiday spirit to Brandonites on Christmas Day.

“All of the volunteers love to give back to the community and make sure someone else’s day is brighter.”

The Traditional Christmas Dinner, using Crocus Plains Regional High School as its headquarters, had an incredible amount of support for Saturday’s efforts. Volunteers served up around 2,500 meals and delivered them to homes from noon to 6 p.m.

Planning for the dinners began about two months ago, and it took careful crafting to bring together the new format of the service.

Smith said organizers are grateful to the sponsors and volunteers who made the day possible.

Meal prep for this year’s event received support from Helping Hands, Co-op Bakery, Kuipers Bakery and Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School. Smith added Crocus Plains students were involved in dinner prep this year, making the stuffing and peeling potatoes for the meal.

Christmas meals included ham, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and vegetables topped with gravy, paired with buns, oranges and a pie.

The dinners were dropped off at the Women’s Shelter, Samaritan House, Westman Lions Manor, Helping Hands and other parts of Brandon. People could also request meals for delivery via email or phone.

“It’s nice in your heart to know you’ve helped somebody out. You’ve given back,” Smith said. “It’s nice to get back together to some normalcy.”

Barbara Puttick helped organize the deliveries of dinners.

The deliveries came in waves and it took careful organization to help get the suppers out into the community. At some points of the day, more than 700 meals would go out in an hour.

It was inspiring to see so many volunteers out and working well together, Puttick said.

The 2021 event marked her first year volunteering with the Traditional Christmas Dinner. She wanted to participate in the event to help give back to the community after the death of her son, Donovan.

“We lost my 16-year-old to depression in November. So, this was something we felt we could do to keep busy and honour him,” Puttick said. “It feels good to be doing something positive.”

She said she would encourage anyone who has time to volunteer with the initiative. The need for their help has only grown with the delivery of meals.

“This is a great thing to do,” Puttick said. “Everybody is friendly and, I think, everybody seems excited to be here.”

Crocus Plains vice-principal Veronica Addams, who oversees the culinary arts program at the high school, connected with the Traditional Christmas Dinner when she found out they were looking for a headquarters for the 2021 holidays.

“We had the resources here that they needed,” Addams said. “We worked together to make sure it all [came] together.”

The kitchen of the high school had a volunteer chef on hand, cooking vegetables and heating hams, while meals were packaged in the cafeteria by an assembly line of volunteers.

Addams said the Traditional Christmas Dinner served as a great way to get students involved in volunteering. The school’s hockey team aided in the endeavour by picking up frozen pies from different shops around town.

“We wanted to bring it all together to make sure everybody has a nice meal for the Christmas holidays,” Addams said.

“It’s been great. As we’re all assembling the meals together, it’s been really neat to meet people I’ve never met before. It’s just neat to have this eclectic group of people come together that don’t know each other that are all volunteering their time to just help.”

» ckemp@brandonsun.com

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