Christmas dinners offered in Muskogee, Checotah

Dec. 19—People can drive up for free Christmas dinners in Muskogee and Checotah this year.

Muskogee Medical Foundation will present Momma C's (drive-thru) Soul Food Christmas dinner starting noon Monday at Muskogee Civic Center.

"Unfortunately we have so many people in Muskogee and outside who don't have access to a hot meal on Christmas," said Muskogee Medical Foundation Director Angelina Villegas. "We have this opportunity to give these people a hot meal at no charge."

The meal began in 2012 as a simple dinner to benefit Gospel Rescue Mission residents, Villegas said.

"The next year, it was moved to the Frisco Depot, and we kind of opened it up to anyone who wanted to attend," she said. "In 2015, it was renamed "Momma C's Soul Food Christmas Dinner," in honor of the late Cassandra Gaines. In 2018, we moved it to the Civic Center because it just got so big. It's an event that's been kind of a staple in the community ever since."

The free meal continues to grow after 11 years.

"Last year, we had a line of traffic down fourth street and wrapped around Okmulgee waiting," she said. "We served 500 meals exactly."

She said 500 dinners will be prepared this year.

"We have Bronko Carr of Bronko's Pit Barbecue smoke the meats, and he smokes it outside and onsite," she said. "Aanje Wilkerson prepares all the sides for us. She has Momma C's Soul Food kitchen. She prepares that in the kitchen and delivers it to us, so we have it ready to go and ready to serve. "

An army of volunteers get the food out to the vehicles.

"We typically have 25 to 30 volunteers," she said. "We've got two stations, it's a drive-thru in front of the civic center, one way with two lanes, one on each side of the road. Love Bottling donates drinks, we've got volunteers handing out drinks, volunteers handing out meals through the windows. We've got people who are running food from the kitchen to the stations outside."

Many more help out at the two-sided kitchen.

"This year, we decided to double the serving line in the kitchen to make it run more smoothly," Villegas said. "Since we are doubling the serving line this year, we need several more volunteers."

In Checotah, Mount Olive Star Missionary Baptist Church will sponsor its 15th annual Feeding All Souls Christmas Dinner, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday at the Checotah Missionary Baptist Church. It will be a drive-thru.

Pastor Samuel Cunningham said 500 meals were served last Christmas.

"This year, we're preparing for 600," he said. "We have never run out."

Cunningham said church volunteers are preparing 12 turkeys, 16 hams, 24 gallons of green beans and 24 gallons of corn. They're also preparing a variety of desserts.

"Anything you can name — sweet potato pie, pecan pie, peach cobbler," he said. "We have some bakers in our community. Any kind of dessert and cake you can think of."

Cunningham said people are in need throughout the year.

"If we're going to say we follow Christ, we can't take the day off because it's his birthday," he said. "People are still in need. People are still hurting."