Christmas dinner tradition in Franklin welcomes anyone for a meal, no questions asked

FRANKLIN — First starting in her laundromat on Central Avenue, Mayor Desiree McLaughlin brings the community together annually with a Christmas dinner open to all. This year, the dinner was held in the Episcopal Mission of Franklin church on Friday night.

Dinner includes ham, turkey, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes in a buffet-style. This year, over 60 people sat down together at tables or took meals to go. Santa Claus and the Grinch each made an appearance. Betty Arsenault, church treasurer and past president of Franklin Falls Rotary Club, said she hopes to do the dinner again, and to see it expand.

“It’s bringing community together,” she said. “People are here from all walks of life.”

McLaughlin coordinates both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. The mayor funds the Christmas dinner herself, as it tends to be smaller due to inclement weather. She thinks it's important to offer these dinners, as there are people who rely on them for a holiday meal.

“I wanted it to be for people who don’t have the opportunity to have Thanksgiving" and Christmas, she said. “And I realized that there was a lot of people.”

Paul Stephen is currently living on the streets in Franklin, and came to the Christmas dinner for the first time on Friday. It is usually cold this time of year, and on the night of the dinner, it snowed. He knew this meal would allow him to get inside and away from the weather, and have good food. He enjoyed his time.

“I like it. It’s peaceful, it’s familiar, it’s friendly, it’s family-oriented, and forgiving,” he said.

McLaughlin recruited Broken Spoon restaurant owner Miriam Kovacs to help make the food. McLaughlin cooked some things throughout last week, and the bulk of the food was made starting at 10 p.m. on Thursday night, finishing at 5 a.m. Friday. The pair started late, as the mayor was busy attending a legislative committee meeting. Local restaurant Maaz’s Chicken donated the mac and cheese served at the dinner. Kovacs took on an additional responsibility to prepare last-minute mashed potatoes.

Kovacs, who is originally from New Jersey, said she was honored to be asked to help prepare this meal. As someone who loves to share food with others, she felt this was the best way she could give back. She said sometimes it is hard to feel accepted.

“It feels really nice to be able to contribute to this community, because it's a very close-knit community, and a lot of people have lived there their whole lives,” Kovacs said. “I may or may not be actually welcomed into it, but food always helps you get your foot in the door.”

Local politicians were in attendance, including City Councilor Ed Prive (Ward 3), Councilor-elect Tom Boyce (Ward 2), state Rep. Ernesto Gonzalez (Merrimack 3), and Rep. Jason Gerhard (Merrimack 25), and his successor, Rep. James Thibault. Thibault praised the mayor for her dedication to the dinner and emphasized the importance of bringing the community together in this way. But thought it important, as a local politician, to be present among his constituents.

“It's really important for people to be able to engage with public officials, like the mayor,” he said. “It's important for us to come out and be with them, and understand exactly what's going on. And I think these are great opportunities to do that.”

The holiday dinners were started five years ago at Chubbles, an old restaurant next to the laundromat, where the Broken Spoon now resides. Owner Cathy Chubbles and her husband Roy started the tradition to bring the community together for the holidays. When the mayor took up the mantle, she started in her laundromat, and cooked most of the food in her own kitchen upstairs, before moving to the church.

“I have a laundromat. That’s not food related,” she said. “Whereas they have potluck dinners.”

McLaughlin ran into another problem. She used to hand out peanut and butter jelly sandwiches from her laundromat for people experiencing homelessness and children. But someone reported her to the state Department of Health and Human Services, which shut down the outreach. In order to properly serve food to the community, she needed a National Sanitation Foundation-approved kitchen.

McLaughlin tried to work around this restriction by cooking at businesses with approved kitchens, like Zeke’s Sweets or the Broken Spoon. This was not a long-term arrangement, though, as McLaughlin did not want to put the responsibility on other businesses.

“I didn’t mind doing something that was my responsibility, but I hated having someone else doing, it because I felt like it was a burden,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin since found out she is permitted to serve food four times a year. Two of these occasions are for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

This commitment to helping the community gives Kovacs a newfound appreciation for her mayor. Kovacs believes McLaughlin is not looking for recognition and wants everyone to comes to feel loved and supported.

“Dee literally does what Jesus would do,” Kovacs said. “She is the embodiment of love and giving and she doesn't want anyone in this community to feel any sort of shame.”

While Kovacs recognizes the dinner is good for the community, she also believes this should be expected. That as a community, everyone is meant to help their fellow neighbors.

“I think that this is what we're supposed to do as humans,” she said. “We're supposed to take care of each other. We're not meant to survive on our own.”