Every Christmas, the Mobile Meals Kitchen is filled with holiday cheer and activity. The Mobile Meals Kitchen, 1747 Reynolds Street, has reopened and meals will be distributed Christmas Day from this location. Staff and volunteers will help the meal-delivery volunteers load up their cars with coolers filled with delicious holiday meals that include pork roast, green bean casserole, potato medley and Santa salad. They will head out to deliver a hot meal and warm holiday greetings to homebound seniors who have no family in town to help him or her share the holiday. After all seniors have been served, the volunteers and staff will head home to their own holiday meals.

Every day, the Mobile Meals program serves more than 900 meals in Knoxville and Knox County using a volunteer corps of more than 1,000 people throughout the year. One-third of the seniors normally served by the program will be with friends or family on Christmas Day while the remainder will receive their hot Mobile Meals. In addition, through the generosity of the community, holiday gifts will be delivered to the Mobile Meals clients as well as to more than 250 Office on Aging clients who receive meals at congregate sites in housing developments.

Christmas Day volunteers represent a variety of groups throughout the community including schools, churches and other faith-based organizations, Scout troops, and businesses who just want to give something back to the community. For many, delivering meals on the holiday has become a family tradition. It is a great service opportunity that teaches both children and adults the value of giving back to the community and sharing warm smiles and good food.

All of the volunteers will meet at the Mobile Meals Kitchen, 1747 Reynolds Street on Tuesday, December 25, to begin loading their cars and delivering meals. Their departure times are staggered between 9:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.