HARTSVILLE, S.C. (WBTW) – The Hartsville Soup Kitchen was filled with food and smiles on Christmas Day.
Volunteers with the Greater Heights Baptist Church woke up early to prepare warm meals for people in the community who did not have one for the holiday.
Bradley Flowers is a member of the church and said giving back is what Christmas is all about. He said all of the food from the pulled pork barbeque to the red velvet cake desserts were donated.
“I just think it’s special, especially on Christmas, for people that can’t have what everybody else has,” Flowers said. “Everybody needs to be served a warm meal on Christmas.”
Robert Carter said he appreciates all that the soup kitchen provides and was happy to spend both Christmas and his birthday there.
“They make it feel like home,” Carter said about the volunteers. “They were nice and welcoming and everybody has a great friendship.”
The volunteers made more than 50 meals, all with food donated from the community. Flowers said the church also put together gift bags for adults and toys for children.
“There’s a lot of different items in them like gloves, hats, water, hand sanitizer just everything they might need,” Flowers said.
11-year-old Landon Rhodes said he would rather be handing out meals and gifts than getting any of his own.
“This is one of my favorite things about Christmas,” Rhodes said. “I like coming to help other people and seeing people do joy and give.”
Patricia Wilson received a meal from the soup kitchen and said, after a rough year, it means a lot to her know people are willing to help during the holidays.
“It’s letting us know that they care about the community, they’re doing a lot for everybody,” she said.
The Hartsville Soup Kitchen is open Monday-Friday from 11 a.m. until noon.