Kamloops meal train looking for donations for annual Christmas dinner

Volunteers are preparing for an annual Christmas dinner for homeless people in Kamloops. Organizers with the Kamloops Community Meal Train are hosting the dinner's 12th iteration, now in a new location after using now-shuttered location of The Loop in past years. This year it will be hosted at the Odd Fellows Hall at 423 Tranquille Road on Dec. 23. "It will be an in-house meal, but we're also going to have a distribution of clothing items, tents, sleeping bags, tarps," said Glenn Hilke, who organizes the meal train. READ MORE: ‘It’s a bit of a toss up’: Dream cautiously of a white Christmas in Kamloops, Okanagan https://infotel.ca/newsitem/its-a-bit-of-a-toss-up-dream-cautiously-of-a-white-christmas-in-kamloops-okanagan/it107496 The kindness kits will include personal hygiene items and hand warmers, for example.  Hilke said the Christmas dinner often attracts around 100 diners each year, both homeless people and seniors, he said, adding anyone is welcome. It's one of a few similar dinners hosted for people who are food insecure in the city, following on the heels of the PIT Stop dinner which was hosted at the Sandman Centre earlier this week, where volunteers served 400 dinners. READ MORE: ADHD cases skyrocketing across BC — and it's not just the kids anymore https://infotel.ca/newsitem/adhd-cases-skyrocketing-across-bc-and-its-not-just-the-kids-anymore/it107429 The Dec. 23 dinner will be served over two hours starting at 3 p.m. "If people want to help out, there's a number of ways they can do that," Hilke said. Volunteers willing to help on the day of can stop by the Odd Fellows Hall anytime from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., either to serve, set up or clean up. Inquiries about donating food, namely turkey and ham, or funds can be made by sending an email to kcmtloop@gmail.com mailto:kcmtloop@gmail.com . To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry mailto:llandry@infonews.ca  or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .