There is a Christmas feast being prepared in Alvinston and now all that’s needed is people to share it.

The Boxing Day Turkey Dinner with all the fixings at Guthrie Presbyterian Church in Alvinston is the brainchild of Councillor Jeannette Douglas and her daughter, Heather.

Heather, who lives in Windsor, came up with the idea last year at this time after talking with her mother about the new food bank in the community.

Heather says she was “shocked to hear” that one out of every three people using the food bank in Petrolia was from Alvinston. “I couldn’t believe it.”

The family talked about putting on a free Christmas Dinner then, but it was too late in the year to plan. So this season, they’re pulling out all the stops.

While they hope to reach people who could use a good meal, Heather says the meal now has a community feel to it.

“We were doing the posters for it and we thought ‘how are we going to put this’ and mom said ‘It’s not really for people who don’t have food, its for people who don’t have people ….who are alone at Christmas.’ Then the dinner quickly switched to more of a community feel…We’re focusing on community and bringing people together.”

The Douglas family has organized the event but lots of people are ready to help. Douglas says her mother has been getting all kinds of food donations and many people have offered to help cook and serve. “The moment she mentioned it everyone started giving and there are all kinds of volunteers.

“We’re bring people together not only people …who are eating but also to put it on. It’s a community builder, too.”

But now, the family wants to make sure there are people to eat the traditional turkey dinner which is being prepared. They’re asking anyone who wants to attend the dinner between 11 am and 1pm on Boxing Day to call Jeannette Douglas at 519-898-5302 by the weekend so they can prepare the right amount of food.

“Now we just need people to come to eat.”