Lotus Light Kitchen Prepares Christmas Meals for People in Need
LLCS charity event featured in a CTV News report
On Christmas Day, Lotus Light Emergency Kitchen volunteers specially prepared 300 Christmas turkey dinners and delivered them to vulnerable groups and individuals in the Downtown Eastside in order to help them celebrate the holiday season.
The Emergency Kitchen was established as part of Lotus Light’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given how the pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity in the DTES community, Lotus Light’s free meals — prepared by FoodSafe-certified volunteers — helped provide some relief to people in need.
Furthermore, the pandemic also dampened the 2020 holiday season. During the cold winter weather, Lotus Light’s free turkey dinners on Christmas Day helped provide not only sustenance to those in need, but also reminded them that they are not forgotten, and that they are part of our community.
Lotus Light Emergency Kitchen formed a special team of volunteers to prepare the special Christmas turkey dinners. Entrees consisted of roast turkey, sliced roast ham, pasta, and bread with borscht soup; there was also mashed potatoes, shrimp, fruit salads, and chocolate desserts.
DTES resident Christian really enjoyed the delicious food that volunteers brought in, and thanked volunteers with their newly learned Cantonese holiday greeting. CTV News also sent a news reporter to cover the event, which helped spread Lotus Light’s spirit of caring to the wider community and will hopefully inspire good deeds from others too.
In addition to the Christmas dinners, other Lotus Light volunteers also dedicated their time to deliver Christmas gifts to the children of low-income and single-parent families. The volunteers were very happy to see the smiling faces of the children who received gift bags filled with toys and candy.
