SUMMIT COUNTY COMMUNITY DINNER 100,000TH MEAL
Free Community Dinners since 2009
Summit County Community Dinner 100,000th Meal was served on October 6th. My husband and I were pleased to be a part of that evening - preparing and serving the community of Summit County. DG Mary Kay Hasz
Deborah Hage, Summit County Rotarian, initiated the dinners in 2009 after becoming aware that the area food-banks were overwhelmed serving workers, children and families. And so The Rotary Club of Summit County, along with the cooperation of Elks Lodge 2561, has been serving a free community dinner every Tuesday since March 3, 2009. (There is a donation bucket at every meal, but nothing is mandated).
Donations come from multiple sources including supplemental funding from Rotary District 5450. The Food Bank of the Rockies donates a large percentage of the food. Among other donors are Target and Orowheat as well as local businesses including Arapahoe Basin, Copper Mountain, Keystone Resort, Dillion Dam Brewery, Old Chicago and Bonnie Q BBQ.
The food served is nutritious and includes fresh fruit, salad, vegetables and meat. As Rotarian Deborah Hage comments, "For many this is the one time a week they get fresh produce. The meal is not a soup supper for the poor. I think it is need based, but it’s also community based. This is a community dinner where all come together in solidarity."
More volunteer participation is always welcome according to Rotarian Hage. To make a donation, send a check made out to Summit County Rotary Charitable Fund (community dinner in the memo line) and mail to P.O. Box 4401, Frisco, Colorado 80443. Of course, if you are up in Summit County, more specifically Silverthorne, and can drop in around 5:00 P.M. on a Tuesday at the Elks Lodge, you can lend a hand and have a great meal.
Indeed, the Rotarians of Summit County, along with their partners are being "A Gift to the World."