Volunteers hurriedly clear the last of the free Christmas Dinners to be delivered to those who need them most in Bury. At the same time a small few walk through the doors of the parish church for this year’s free Christmas Dinner.
The small room has been turned into a makeshift restaurant. Tables have been draped in white cloth, Christmas decorations and crackers have been set out.
For some this meal is a yearly occurrence that they look forward to, but for most this is their first time.
88-year-old Joseph Kay lives by himself and says he has done ever since his wife sadly passed away. Known affectionately as Joe by his new friends at the dinner, he says that he usually dreads Christmas because of the loneliness. “This is unusual for me," He told the MEN, "It was a nice surprise to get an invite actually. Christmas Dinners are usually a sandwich and a tin of soup.
“If I didn’t come I’d be watching telly, reading the paper. It’s become a ritual, I spend it by myself, I don’t bother.
“I never look forward to Christmas because I don’t really enjoy it. But today I got invited to a Christmas dinner, met some nice people who looked after me and I’d like to show my appreciation because I’m not used to this.”
Two other men who came to today’s Christmas dinner for the first time are Paul Goucher and Chris Murray. Chris was told about the Christmas dinner by local charity Red Door.
He lives by himself and on Christmas day he would visit his elderly parents. This year he was unable to and instead of spending the day on his own he decided to head out. “Things like this are important because the cost of living.” He told the MEN.
“Where I live is the poor area of Bury, we’re all renting, I saw my parents this morning but they’re not up to catering. If it wasn’t for this I’d probably be on my own at home."
Paul, 67, is another who lives by himself and says with family members dotted around the globe, he found himself alone this Christmas.
“I’ve been living by myself for 10 years. I came to Bury to start a fresh life. I have a brother and he lives in Wales, and I’ve got another who lives in Scandinavia so I’m by myself this year.
“I just thought I’d come down to see what it was like to have a Christmas Dinner in a church. I don’t usually go to church but coming down on a Christmas Day is good because it reminds you where you come from and keeps you level-headed.
The whole event is handled by Catholic charity Caritas who worked closely with The Church of England, Impact, Young Christian Workers and the Council of Christians and Jews. As well as the free Christmas meal at the parish church, they have spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day delivering food to struggling families, residents and local care homes.
The scheme has been going on for up to 10 years and demand has risen year on year. This year they doubled their tally with almost 700 people fed.
Speaking about the drastic rise in demand, Lisa Lilly from Caritas said: “I’m not surprised at all, we’re in a crisis.
“A lot of people who come are lonely, and a lot of people we deliver to are lonely as well. I’m not surprised it’s got worse because we’re in a financial disaster at the moment. It’s the temperature of the country at the moment and that’s why we’ve doubled.
“We could have had another 300 people phoning in and people are still drifting in now as word gets around that there’s somewhere warm to stay as long as you like with food.
“We could cope but we’d have to get more funding in and more fundraising. We’ve tried today to spread the word about people donating to Caritas because we don’t just do Christmas meals, it’s all year around, we rely on charity.”
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