St. Matthew's House serves Christmas dinner to hundreds in need

NAPLES, Fla. —

St. Matthew's House hosted its annual Christmas dinner at Lulu's Kitchen, serving 856 people with the help of volunteers and community support.

Hundreds of people, including Rhonda Duncalf, gathered to receive a hot Christmas ham dinner this year, courtesy of St. Matthew's House.

"I think it's wonderful that they're doing this, because on Christmas, a lot of people might be alone and might need a place to go," Duncalf said.

Volunteers dedicated countless hours to preparing for the annual Christmas Day dinner.

Ken Candito, a volunteer, expressed the spirit of giving back, saying, "We're at the stage where we don't exchange presents anymore because we have everything that we need. So it's giving back to others."

St. Matthew's House has been hosting its Christmas Day Meals for the Community for over 20 years, serving more people each year. This year marked the first time the event was held at Lulu's Kitchen.

Ben Bridges, president and CEO of St. Matthew's House, highlighted the organization's mission, stating, "So about 90% of the workforce here at Lulu's Kitchen are residents and graduates of our recovery program, and so they've come through our 12-month residential recovery program, and now they're in a place where they can begin to give back."

The event relied heavily on donations and community support.

Daniel Moore, director of retail operations at St. Matthew's House, emphasized the importance of teamwork, saying, "We are here with so many resources to be able to give back to the community. We want to feed as many people as possible."

Chef Nick Moilanen, program chef at St. Matthew's House, shared his motivation for participating, stating, "We're not here for our own selfish reasons. We're here because we feel like we're actually doing something good to help our community and the people in it."

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