Plating up a special holiday meal

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An unusual gift to the St. Vincent de Paul Kitchen in Wilkes-Barre will make holiday meals more festive at the Jackson Street facility.
About two weeks ago, silverware and dishware for 150 place settings were donated, director Ann Marie McCawley said, allowing the kitchen to prepare its Thanksgiving meal “like a restaurant” rather than a cafeteria.
“We thought it would be nice to set the table and put a place setting at each place and then they (the diners) could just go get their food and sit down,” McCawley said. “We think it would be nice to have Thanksgiving be a little more festive, you know, not just what we do every day.”
The tables will be adorned with candles and flowers, she said, and volunteers will replace the settings and restock the drinks, butter and salads.
The idea was initiated because the dishes “are so nice and the silverware is so nice, and it would make it a little more special for Thanksgiving,” McCawley said. The place settings were used once for a party and donated because the owners had no more use for them.
“It’s wonderful,” she said. “We’re going to keep them for the holidays, probably for Christmas again” because that’s when enough volunteers are around to keep the table settings replaced.
The kitchen will also deliver meals to the homebound.
Though the kitchen is well-stocked with volunteers for the day, it’s in need of one Thanksgiving staple.
“That would be great if we could get an influx of pies. You can’t have Thanksgiving dinner without pumpkin pie,” McCawley said.
To Volunteer

Call the kitchen at 829-7796 to volunteer. Volunteers are needed on a daily basis between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Rory Sweeney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7418.