As long as people are hungry, the Dew Drop Inn will find a way to make their holidays special.
The organization held their annual Thanksgiving dinner at St. Andrew’s on Monday, one of three large-scale meals they hold throughout the year.
Terri Favreau, director of the Dew Drop Inn, said she was preparing for more than 300 people to show up for dinner. The first arrived well in advance of the first meal.
“They started showing up around 12:30 and patiently waiting for 2:30,” Favreau said. “I was figuring between 300 and 350 that would be coming.”
While the Thanksgiving numbers have held steady over recent years, Favreau said that has not been the case with the people they serve on a daily basis.
“During the week our numbers our consistently going up. There’s more and more need all the time. There are a lot of hungry people out there,” she said.
“A lot of them are out of work, and there’s a lot on welfare and disability that don’t get enough money. Their money just isn’t stretching far enough because once they’ve paid for their rooms there’s nothing left so they come here to eat.”
Favreau said they want people to be able to come in and forget about their daily struggles and have a nice time.
Otherwise many of them would never get the type of holiday meals that most people enjoy, she added.
“I’m trying to make them feel special. I want to do it for them and have them come and enjoy because otherwise you know they wouldn’t have anything,” she explained. “I try to make them all feel welcome.”
The dinner consisted of turkey and the usual fixings, and dessert included pumpkin pies donated by the Grade 6 class at St. Jude School earlier this week.
After a major shortage at Easter time, there were more than enough volunteers to make the event a success.
Favreau knows the event depends upon the volunteers, and definitely does not take them for granted.
“I’ve been very blessed,” she said. “We put the word out that we needed 30 to 36 volunteers and they came.”
