Season of goodwill as volunteers cook Christmas dinner for needy

Volunteers at Horncastle Community Centre cooked and delivered 74 festive meals to people in Horncastle and Woodhall Spa on Christmas Day.

The scheme has been running for more than five years when the then-curator of St Mary’s church would host drop-in meals at the community centre, and the volunteers decided to continue the tradition.

Last year, the pandemic meant that the meals had to switch to a delivery service, and the volunteers decided to continue this format this Christmas to be on the safe side.

Between them, the volunteers cooked and delivered 74 meals to those who would have been on their own on Christmas Day, including some last-minute referrals from district nurses.

Spokesman Sue Fitch has given her heart-felt thanks to the volunteers who gave their time on Christmas Day, as well as the local businesses and Tesco who donated so much produce to make the full turkey dinners.

She said: “It really does warm my heart to be able to help people who would have been on their own, and it’s so nice to have so many people who gave their time on Christmas Day to help others – it’s an amazing community effort.”