OCA Community Kitchen just opened their new space and it was an absolute pleasure helping the team out!

Chandrima served up a little Christmas cheer by sorting and quality checking food, clothing, hygiene items, toys, and other essentials, then opening for distribution from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm to support those in need.

A child-friendly first aid room was set up, allowing parents to shop while their children enjoyed toys and books.

After service, a thorough clean up took place, leaving everything tidy and ready for the next day by 5:00 pm.

This day’s work was all about sharing warmth, dignity, and practical care — a true Christmas recipe for a stronger, kinder community.

Dozens of volunteers helped fill the food boxes of the visitors who paid 4 pounds and could select 12 categories of food or clothing - a fairly large quantity of each. It was well organized and orderly. It took about two hours. I got to practice Spanish listening, which was interesting and educational - everyone other than me seemed to be a native Spanish speaker. Later we folded the tables, stacked the chairs and pallets, swept and mopped the room, stacked the leftover food boxes in ceiling high stacks in several storage rooms, carried the spoiled food to the bin, etc, which took about an hour.