GREEN BAY — For the 16th year in a row, Four Winds Ministries and many volunteers will spend Christmas Day packaging and delivering free dinner meals to hundreds of people in the area.
The initiative runs out of Spring Lake Church, 301 N. Adams St., in downtown Green Bay. Each meal will include ham, a baked potato, two kinds of vegetables, a roll, a handmade dessert and a gift.
The bag it is packed in will be decorated with a homemade snowflake and a poem. Individuals and families in need can pick up their meals at the church, or have them delivered.
Delivery will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. and pickup orders can be collected at Spring Lake Church from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. Guests can place an order for pickup or delivery right up to Christmas morning through Four Winds Ministries’ website.
The only information needed is a name, phone number, address and the number of meals you need. Four Winds Ministries does not turn anyone down, co-founder Denise McFarlin said.
“We’re just really hoping to bring some joy to people who would be without a special meal or alone on Christmas,” McFarlin said.
Four Winds is still in need of volunteers to help package and deliver meals on Christmas, as well as monetary donations to cover the costs of the food and gifts. The initiative will cost between $4,000 and $4,500 this year. So far, about $800 have been raised.
Donations can be made through the ministry’s website and individuals interested in volunteering can contact McFarlin at denise.fourwindsofwi@gmail.com.
How the Christmas dinner initiative came to be
The Christmas dinner initiative started over a decade ago between three friends: McFarlin, Dawn Rolling and Kelley Casbourne. After hearing about a woman who hosted a Thanksgiving dinner with strangers, McFarlin called her friends to see if they could pull off a similar event by Christmas.
Denise McFarlin, Dawn Rolling and Kelley Casbourne founded Four Winds Ministries more than a decade ago when they realized Christmas Day can be lonely for many residents in the greater Green Bay area. Since the beginning, they’ve delivered Christmas dinners and gifts to hundreds of area households.
When Christmas came, McFarlin, Rolling and Casbourne were sitting down for dinner with 75 people that would have otherwise spent the holiday alone. The next year, the group doubled.
Before they knew it, the Christmas dinners had grown to around 300 people, all gathering at a local church to spend the holiday together.
But, McFarlin’s pastor friend moved to Virginia and the church they hosted the dinner in closed. Then, COVID-19 hit and the massive in-person diners weren’t turning out in the numbers they had before.
That didn’t stop Four Winds Ministries from serving its community, and the group simply shifted their focus to food delivery. Today, although the location and logistics of the initiative have shifted, Four Winds Ministries serves more than 750 people on Christmas Day.
Christmas dinner is a ‘faith operation’
In November, long before she had received any donations or had any idea of how many people would place orders, McFarlin ordered enough food to feed 750 people; and Four Winds paid for it out of pocket. It’s all done with the faith that there will be enough food and enough money will be donated to reimburse the costs, McFarlin said.
“It’s a faith operation,” McFarlin said. “People say, what if you run out of food? We’ll make each meal just a little smaller. We’ll figure it out once we know.”
So far, they have always raised enough money and recruited enough volunteers to make the day possible.
Four Winds Ministries is looking for help to keep the gift-giving tradition alive
For over a decade, Casbourne would spend all year buying small gifts, like fuzzy socks and candles, to build a collection that Four Winds could use on Christmas. Every person Four Winds served got a Christmas gift, thanks to Casbourne.
Casbourne died in 2021 after battling with COVID-19. Her unexpected death was a tragic loss for her loved ones, including her friends McFarlin and Rolling.
Without Casbourne, Four Winds had lost its dedicated gift shopper and, in 2022, the group wasn’t able to continue the gift-giving tradition. But, McFarlin had hope that the tradition would be revived; and it was.
In response to a Press-Gazette article last year, McFarlin was contacted by a woman who was moved by Casbourne’s story.
“She said, I read about your friend, and she said, I’d like to do that for you this year,” McFarlin said. “So, in a back bedroom, I have two big stacks of pillows and blankets and things that she collected. She and her friends made it their mission.”
Thanks to the volunteer and her friends, all of this year’s meals will include a gift again. But, Four Winds still needs help to keep the tradition alive next year and every year to come.
Anyone who is interested in following Casbourne’s footsteps, for one year or permanently, can reach McFarlin at denise.fourwindsofwi@gmail.com.
How can I help?
Many hands make light work, McFarlin always says, and Four Winds is in need of many hands on Christmas Day.
Four Winds Ministries needs volunteers throughout the day, from 1 to 7 p.m., on Christmas to set up the room, pack meals, wrap gifts, write cards, deliver meals and clean up when the event is over. All potential volunteers will be contacted by McFarlin by Christmas Eve to confirm.
Donations are vital to the success of the Christmas dinner initiative. Four Winds still needs more than $3,000 to pay for the food and gifts for families. A $40 donation would support a family this season, McFarlin said.
If monetary donations aren’t possible, but you have spare items like blankets or socks, Four Winds can always use gift donations to support the gift-giving tradition. Anyone with these items can drop them off at Spring Lake Church.
Additionally, if you are interested in adopting a family for Christmas and shop for their needs between now and Christmas, you can contact McFarlin at denise.fourwindsofwi@gmail.com. Currently, around seven families have reached out to Four Winds with Christmas needs.
“There seems to be a lot of need this year, and it’s something we can do,” McFarlin said. “And it brings the community together.”
Vivian Barrett is the public safety reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. You can reach her at vmbarrett@greenbay.gannett.com or (920) 431-8314. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @vivianbarrett_.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay free Christmas Dinner by Four Winds Ministries needs volunteers