Community Christmas Dinner signups begin Monday
Nov. 22—Volunteers say they are ready to begin signing up McAlester and Krebs residents who want to participate in the McAlester Community Christmas Dinner.
The number to call is 918-421-2920 beginning Monday, Nov. 28, organizers said. Someone should be available to answer the phones 24 hours a day, they said.
Volunteers plan to cook and deliver the Community Christmas Dinner free of charge to any McAlester and Krebs residents who sign up to participate. Meals will be delivered on Christmas Day, with December 25 falling on a Sunday this year. Anyone will to help make home deliveries on Christmas Day can also phone the 918-421-2920 number, volunteers said.
Those who don't signup by phone can signup online if they prefer at mcalesterchristmas.com, organizers said. The deadline to order, whether by phone or online, is at 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve, which is Saturday, Dec. 24.
Plans call for all of the meals to be delivered by 1 p.m. on Christmas Day to those living within the McAlester and Krebs city limits only, with no dinners available for pickup or carryout.
Also, it's expected more help will be needed to conduct the 2022 McAlester Community Christmas Dinner, volunteers said, citing issues such as inflation driving up food costs and supply side shortages.
Anyone willing to help can send a donation to: McAlester Community Christmas; P.O. Box 291; McAlester, OK; 74501. "Make checks payable to McAlester Community Christmas," said an organizer of the event.
Once again this year, the Community Christmas Dinner is offered free of charge, with no age or income guidelines in place. The only requirement is that those signing up to participate live within the city limits of McAlester or Krebs.
Volunteers stressed the importance of those wanting to participate to phone ahead so organizers will have a better idea of how much food they need to buy and have prepared for the Community Christmas Dinner. Numbers of participants had a wide variance over the past two years, leaving organizers wondering what kind of a demand to expect for the Community Christmas Dinner in 2022.
One of the things they are focused on is the rising cost of food. The dinner is paid for entirely by private donations.
"Will there be more people this year because they can't afford the groceries on their own?" A Community Christmas Dinner volunteer asked that question during one of the group's first organizational meetings in November
"Our food costs to put this on will be higher than it's ever been before," he said.
Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.
