Sharon King, who organizes the community meal, said it is put on every year by a coalition of community groups, including the Pi\u00f1on Project, Women, Infants and Children of Montezuma County, the Good Samaritan Center food pantry, the Montezuma Food Coalition, the Sharehouse, Southwest Open School, The Bridge shelter and several regional soup kitchens.<\/p>\n
Fundraising for the community meal goes on all year, and King said anyone interested in donating to help pay for next year\u2019s feast can write a check to the Onward Foundation and put Community Christmas Dinner in the memo line. Checks may be dropped off at the foundation, 33 N. Chestnut St., or donations may be made online on Onward\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Laurie Hall, director of the Sharehouse, said this is the first year her organization has participated in the Community Christmas Dinner and it is a good match with The Sharehouse\u2019s mission to educate the community about nutrition, cooking, local food and a healthful diet.<\/p>\n \u201cThe meal fits right in with what we do,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWe are a nonprofit that coordinates food distribution to serve a food-insecure population. We also provide education about food, the food system, local farms and about nutrition, cooking and how we celebrate food in the arts.<\/p>\n \u201cSo this is great \u2013 serving up a healthy, nutritious meal that is as local as much as possible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She said the roasted potatoes were provided by the Good Food Collective, which worked with farmers this year to plant thousands of pounds of spuds, some of which were donated for the community meal.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a potato prep party Monday,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWe washed them, peeled them chopped and prepped them and we roasted them Tuesday.\u201d<\/p>\n Samantha King, 17, daughter of Sharon, runs the kitchen for the big event. Cooking started several days ago, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hardest thing about cooking for this many people is just keeping your cool,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to be diligent about making things and careful about the amount you make. You want to make sure you stay on top of the amount of food that\u2019s going out.\u201d<\/p>\n This year\u2019s meal included 30 turkeys, 125 pounds of roasted potatoes from locally grown spuds, 400 fresh rolls, 72 pounds of green beans, 2 pounds of cranberry sauce, salads with locally grown greens and homemade and store-bought pies donated the past two days.<\/p>\n Kyle Simp enjoyed the meal with his children, Loloni Simp, 9; and Alana Pinto, 4.<\/p>\n The meal came in handy this year, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re on a budget, and we had things to pay for this year. But we did get the kids toys, and we\u2019re going to deliver presents after the meal,\u201d Kyle Simp said.<\/p>\n Dearle Ricker, who was working the pie line, said a lot of homemade pies came in.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a form of love, too, homemade pies,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of love in those pies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPumpkin pie is the best,\u201d said Evander, whose mind quickly turned back to his hoverboard.<\/p>\n \u201cI can spin fast and faster, and I almost never fall off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n