PALMERSTON – For nearly two months students in the Norwell Business Leadership class planned the second annual Community Christmas Dinner.
The event was hosted at the Palmerston Legion on Dec. 4.
“We started planning in late October and started bringing in the food the week of Dec. 4th. We were in the kitchen at 8am to cook everything to ensure it was delicious and hot,” stated Haley Richards, a dinner volunteer.
There was a full house with over 140 people from local communities, including Palmerston, Drayton, Harriston, and Clifford, attending the dinner. The doors opened at 5:15pm and after the sponsors of the event were thanked and grace was said, dinner was served at 6pm.
“The food was delicious and felt like my grandma cooked it. It was only $5 and was for a good cause,” stated Ellyse Charleboise, a student who attended the event.
All of the food served at the dinner was donated by sponsors. The dinner consisted of turkey from Golden Valley Farms, chicken from Farm Fresh Poultry, corn from Palmerston Foodland, dinner rolls from Harriston Bakery, mashed potatoes from Downey Potato Farms and stuffing from Drayton Freshmart, with gravy on the side from the Wholesale Club.
Dessert consisted of cookies and cupcakes brought by volunteers and cake donated from Fresh Start Bakery in Palmerston. Coffee and hot chocolate was donated by Harriston Tim Hortons, and the cranberry punch from Listowel Food Basics. Centerpieces were donated by Blooms on Main in Drayton.
The dinner was also sponsored by Harriston Foodland, Gay Lea Foods, Listowel Zehrs, the Palmerston Legion and Metzger Electric.
It raised $868 for local food banks. Funds were divided evenly between four local food banks and distributed before Christmas.
