Food 4 The Soul served more than 200 meals Tuesday afternoon during its free community Christmas dinner at the American Legion Hall, drawing volunteers from multiple local organizations to help meet the need.
The event was held December 23 and continued until food ran out, according to organizers. Volunteers cooked and served meals to community members throughout the afternoon.
Food 4 The Soul founder Barbara Goston began her outreach years ago by preparing meals for people in need and the homeless, often cooking with her grandson and serving to-go meals from the trunk of her car. More recently, she partnered with youth from Project Reclaim, expanding the effort while giving young people an opportunity to serve their community.
Goston also recently attended a community gathering focused on homelessness, where she connected with D McCoy, who has since formed Hearts for the Homeless. McCoy, a member of Webster Parish’s Women of Courage, brought a team of volunteers to help cook and serve at Tuesday’s dinner.
Additional help came from members of Boy Scout Troop 40, who assisted with serving meals.
“They just showed up!” Goston said when asked where the scouts had come from.
Goston said her motivation has always been rooted in caring for others.
“I’ve had so many things that have happened in my life, but I always wanted to put a smile on someone else’s face. I may not be able to give them money, but I love people and I love to cook so I share loving on people through my food and just tell them that I love them and God loves them. Just being amongst people and having the passion for helping someone else so you can make their life a little brighter; it may not change their situation but it gives them hope that everything will be okay. I even share some of my difficulties so that they can trust that times won’t always be hard,” Goston said.
Looking ahead, Goston said she hopes to expand the organization’s reach.
“One day I’m going to have a building so I can feed more people hot meals,” she said.
Food 4 The Soul continues to focus on addressing food insecurity and providing hope through community-based outreach. More information can be found on Food 4 The Soul’s Facebook page.
