Free Christmas Day Dinners Offered in the St. Cloud Area

SARTELL/WAITE PARK -- Area residents who need a place to go this Christmas are invited to a church in Sartell. The second annual Christmas Day Dinner is at the Waters Church on Pine Cone Road in Sartell.

Organizer Eric Moyer says the doors will open at 11:30 a.m. with the dinner being served starting at noon.

He says you are invited to stay and hangout throughout the afternoon.

It's not just a meal, we're having activities afterward.  We're a very kid-friendly church, we have a slide that comes out of our upper level, we have a game room, and we'll also have activities for adults.  So, we don't want people to just come and eat and leave, they are welcome to stay as long as they want.

Moyer says the meal is free and you don't need to sign-up ahead of time, however, they do have a Facebook event page if you want to reserve a spot.

Meanwhile, A longtime holiday tradition continues this week in Waite Park. The 34th annual Christmas Dinner is hosted by the Scouts Troop 20.

Organizer Joe Cordie says dedicated volunteers make it all come together.

We get a number of volunteers, it probably takes anywhere from 75 to 100 volunteers to pull this off on Christmas Day, and I have a number of volunteers that will be coming back for their 34th year.

Cordie says they expect to serve over 800 free meals on Wednesday.

Anyone is invited to come to the church and join them if you can't drive yourself you can call and ask to get picked-up. They also deliver meals to homes, if you'd prefer that.

The Christmas Dinner is from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday at the St. Joseph's Church Basement in Waite Park.

You can call 380-3794 to make reservations.