Volunteers go extra mile to lay on Christmas dinner

With 48 kilograms of frozen vegetables, 80kg of potatoes, rolled pork roasts, ham, chicken, Christmas pudding, mini pavlovas, trifle, icecream, brandy snaps and cherries – all donated – one of Timaru’s most attended community Christmas dinners catered for about 300 people.

The Caroline Bay Hall was full when the annual dinner – prepared, cooked, and served by a team of volunteers was dished out to South Canterbury residents who may have otherwise celebrated Christmas alone.

The number in attendance was up by 50 from last year’s dinner, organiser Melissa Brennan said.

To top it off, on Monday organisers received a visit from a man who wished to be known as ‘‘the doctor’’, who promptly donated ‘‘a whole heap of cherries and strawberries’’, Brennan said.

The cherries were not the only firsttime things, as there were several new volunteers, including Carolyn Willis.

Willis and her daughter Darcie decided to volunteer as it was just them for Christmas, with all their family celebrating elsewhere.

It was the same for Sergeant Nerida Manson, who joined a fellow police officer to give a hand at the dinner, both dressed in their uniform.

‘‘What better way to spend my day off than to support the community,’’ Manson said.

There had been so many offers of help that Brennan had had to turn people away. ‘‘Everybody wants to help.’’ Adrian Tocker was one of these people, so instead of volunteering, he and his children Samara, 10, and Matthew, 12, attended the celebrations.

‘‘It’s nice, rather than just sitting around at home, making more food than you can eat,’’ Adrian said.

The food had been prepared and cooked since 7am on Monday by two chefs.

The pair worked throughout Christmas Eve day, and began again at the same time on Christmas Day.

Volunteer Noreen Grieve helped in the kitchen, along with other jobs, including checking there were enough plates and cutlery.

‘‘I think it’s been busier this year because we’ve had more people. As the helpers, we thought we might have to rewash the dishes because we thought we might run out.’’

Despite all the time, effort and work involved, the volunteers enjoyed themselves, and the attendees seemed pleased with the food.