Nearly 2,000 meals were served at the first ever Salem Community Easter Dinner on Saturday. SWAG combined with the Grace United Methodist Church to put on the dinner.
The organizer of SWAG Chris Watkins first announced he wanted to add the Easter dinner after the continued success of the Community Thanksgiving Dinner last November. The question then became where to hold it. After meeting Watkins following an introduction from the Director of the Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry Carol Ann Short, Grace Methodist Pastor Carol Lakota Easton said the idea was quickly approved by the church.
“A lot of our church people here at the United Methodist Church have stepped up, alongside Christians from many other churches and servants from different civic organizations that have stepped in to help too. It takes a village, so they say, to do such a thing. We raised some money, but actually much of the food is donated from all over the community.”
SWAG organizer Chris Watkins with hams for the Easter Dinner. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
Watkins smoked 125 hams in front of the church Friday in preparation for the meal. Short says the mash potatoes and green beans were then prepared at the church.
“We’ve had roasters all over the church plugged in,” Short said. “We had to draw a map so we could remember where we had plugged things in.”
Visitors dining in at the Community Easter Dinner on Sunday. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
Short and Watkins were pleased with the number who elected to dine in, but like Thanksgiving there were a large number of deliveries. One of the drivers was Joyce Raver.
“Everybody was glad to get them and said thank you,” Raver said. “One lady insisted we take some money.”
A large number of meals were delivered to the Community Youth Center and Centralia Recreation Complex for distribution as well.
Watkins says with the good response, they will likely hold the event again.
“Put God first and have him lead us,” Watkins said. “He leads us in the right direction, and it all comes together.”
