Small businesses are serving up a free Christmas dinner this year

Those who run Mary's African Cuisine on Barrington Street in Halifax say they wouldn't have been able to survive the pandemic without all the community support they received. Now, they want to do something special for the people in the city.

"I have realized during this pandemic time is that — honestly even for us to stay open and for us to even get up and say we're coming into work is because the community is supporting," said Ama Bekoe, who works with her mother, Mary Nkrumah, the owner and operator of the restaurant.

Bekoe said they want to give back to the community that helped them when they were in need by giving out free Christmas dinners with support from Chater's Meat Market and Feed Nova Scotia.

"Where we're from, Ghana, Christmas is a time where families or the community comes together to celebrate, and we've just found that through this year and going through a pandemic that community gathering hasn't been happening," said Bekoe.

She said they hope to revive some of the community spirit that has been lost during the pandemic, especially given so many multicultural events have been cancelled.

"We just wanted to give an opportunity for people to be able to come out and enjoy because at those events you see food being given out and it creates that aroma of togetherness," said Bekoe.

The restaurant will be giving out 100 free meals. Bekoe said what's on the menu will be a surprise but includes classics such as meat stews and curry rice. They will even be offering vegan options.

Pick up will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Christmas Day, and exact times will be assigned based on a sign-up sheet. The restaurant is also accepting donations that will go to Feed Nova Scotia.

Laundry at Your Convenience in Dartmouth is also putting on a free Christmas dinner, something co-owner Graham Schmidt said is definitely needed right now in the Dartmouth community.

"The pandemic is a terrible thing but we can still continue on with our lives and there are people out there to help. It's been a pretty negative nine, 10 months and a lot of people are down," said Schmidt.

This is the first time this convenience store and small bakery has thrown an event of this kind, but Schmidt said a lot of people from the Dartmouth area have offered to help.

"We're actually surprised. We've had a number of people asking to help. They're excited about this. One lady who has two children, a 13-year-old and a 10-year-old, I believe, who want to come and help," said Schmidt.

Although the store itself will not be open, Schmidt said tables will be set up not far from the store's entrance where people can easily access the meals, which will be in takeout boxes. The dinner will run from noon to 4 p.m. Christmas Day.

At this time he's not sure how many meals they'll be handing out — he said it could be from 50 to 250 — but regardless they'll keep giving out food until it's gone, including making a few home deliveries if there's extra left over.

Schmidt said they're not asking for donations (however people can if they like) and when it comes to giving out the meals, there's no judgment. Anyone and everyone can come by and pick up a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings. 

"Anybody who knows someone who needs a meal can come down and get it. We're open to everybody who needs one. Shut-ins, people caught travelling, whoever needs a turkey dinner come here between 12 and 4 on Christmas Day."

Both dinners are completely free and these small business owners are hoping to bring a little extra cheer to people in need during this holiday season.

"Everybody is going through ups and downs during this time," said Bekoe. "We just wanted to bring smiles to the people of Halifax. That's really why we're doing this."

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