Brighton holds Christmas meal

BRIGHTON — Volunteers from the group Tommy’s Helping Hands and Hope Lutheran Church held their second free meal for the Brighton community on Christmas Eve, dishing up a total of 129 plates of ham, turkey, potatoes, green beans and stuffing.

Event organizer Connie Blosser-Emry spearheaded the affair, taking last-minute orders over a Bluetooth headset while managing food, volunteers and logistics.

She said the event drew slightly fewer people than the one on Thanksgiving — which provided 142 meals in total — but still made a positive impact.

“I think with the weather being bad and the wind … it did exactly what we thought,” she said. “We did what we came to do. Anyone that needed a meal, I think they showed up, and the ones that couldn’t make it, we delivered it to them, even if it went to Washington … We filled all the orders that called in.”

Overall, Blosser-Emry said the event went well. With all orders finished by early afternoon, leftovers were donated to the Lighthouse Center in Washington.

“We brought our A-game, and I think everybody here is just awesome,” she said. “It’s not just one person, it’s all the decorations, it’s all the cooks, it’s all the volunteers. Every one of them makes this work.”

Blosser-Emry said any plans for future free meals were undecided, though she was optimistic about the possibility.

“We want to bring it back and see how the community feels about it … I feel it’s a need, so as of right now, we are planning to sit down and talk about it,” she said. “One of the questions I have is, ‘Do we want to do Christmas, or maybe jump to Easter?’ Because other people do stuff for Christmas, and they like that better … I think we’ve just got to weigh that out, you know?”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com