History of the Holiday Dinner & Gift Bag Delivery

Martha was the reason we started the Holiday Dinner. Over 25 years ago, Martha was lamenting the fact that she was alone on Christmas. We promised that she wouldn’t be alone the next year….and she wasn’t. That first year, 20 seniors gathered to share a hot meal. In 2020, we delivered 1,000 hot meals and giftbags all over the county—-my, how we grew!

Years ago, Age Well (formerly Champlain Valley Agency on Aging) requested that HANDS take over their Christmas Day meal delivery program. We increased the numbers every year since then. Our Holiday Dinner partnerships included Age Well, Burlington School Food Project, Elks Lodge, Penny Cluse Café, Temple Sinai, and hundreds of individuals, organizations, and businesses. We couldn’t have done it without all of the heartfelt community assistance.

We’ve depended on volunteers and businesses to provide donations for the meals and giftbags, wrap gifts, make the food, donate money, and deliver meals. On behalf of older Vermonters, of whom 7,800 experience some form of food insecurity according to Hunger Free Vermont statistics, thank you so much for your generosity in lending a hand!