The December 25th dinner was started by Holy Trinity in 2017 to address food security and loneliness issues on Christmas Day for people who might otherwise have no festive meal. The original format was a sit-down dinner but, in 2020 due to COVID, the team pivoted to a “home delivery” approach to registered Welland individuals and families on Christmas day. The "home delivery" approach continues and the growth in dinners delivered has increased significantly.
Delivered on Christmas Day, the meal includes roast turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet-potato casserole, a vegetable side, gravy, dinner roll with butter as well as dessert.
This program is 100% organized and staffed by volunteers. Over 100 volunteers from the parish and the community are involved with fundraising, sourcing, prepare, cook, plating and/or deliver the meals.
Funding comes largely via a direct contributions to the
program or through a community program called “Make a Meal Come True”. The Seaway Mall hosts "Make a Meal Come
True" in December in which Holy Trinity and Open Arms Mission raise fund
for the Christmas Day Dinner or turkey giveaway, respectively.