Need a free holiday meal on Christmas Day? Here’s where to find one in Bradenton

James A. Jones Jr.
·2 min read

The Salvation Army and Our Daily Bread are both serving free meals on Christmas Day, and they invite anyone who might otherwise go without — or who is maybe just in need of some company — to the table.

Here are the times and locations:

▪ Our Daily Bread, 710 Eighth Ave. W., Bradenton, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

▪ Salvation Army, 1204 14th St. W., Bradenton, starting at noon, with the doors closing at 1 p.m., unless there is a line.

“The Salvation Army will be serving ham, green beans, rolls and more desserts than the eye can see,” said Kelly French, the Army’s director of community relations & development.

“Anybody who needs a meal is welcome. You don’t need to be homeless. Some come because, otherwise, they would be alone,” French said.

These aren’t this year’s pies (in fact they are from Thanksgiving a few years ago), but the Salvation Army promises “pies as far as the eye can see” for their Christmas day meal this year.
These aren’t this year’s pies (in fact they are from Thanksgiving a few years ago), but the Salvation Army promises “pies as far as the eye can see” for their Christmas day meal this year.

“Sometimes we see families and we have toys to give the children. We want them to have something special for the day,” she said.

The Salvation Army saw an increase in dinners served for Thanksgiving this year compared to last and expects there will be an increase for the Christmas meal as well.

Last year, the Salvation Army served 250 Christmas meals and expects to serve about 300 this year, she said.

“People are really struggling this year because of the cost of food and housing,” French said.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread, a soup kitchen and food pantry established in 1984, serves a hot meal daily at noon, 364 days a year. It closes only on Thanksgiving Day.

In the lead-up to Christmas, Our Daily Bread has been gifting guests with a special item along with their free meals. One day it was a blanket, another day it was a shirt.

“We are doing extra things every day,” said Mark McLaughlin, president of Our Daily Bread and a volunteer since 1988.

Other food distributions

A number of other organizations distributed food to families prior to Christmas.

Among them, Meals on Wheels PLUS distributed hams and all the fixings for a meal to 600 families this week.

This past weekend, the Parrish United Methodist Church food pantry served 248 vehicles and over 300 families with its food distribution.