The deadline is a couple days away for people that would like to have a free Christmas Day Dinner at the Jefferson Elks Lodge.

Elks member Bill Berger says they cater to everyone in Greene County, and there are lots of ways people can get a free Christmas Day Dinner from them. Those options include dining in at the Elks Lodge, carry-outs, home deliveries to those who live in Jefferson, as well as individuals picking up meals to take to the other communities. 

Berger notes that their 60th program is open to anyone who would like a free meal, as he describes a unique situation that helped several family members.

“One year, we had a family that had a reunion at Christmas time, and they had 31 family members come on up and reserved us an area. But when we got done, grandpa went ahead and donated a very generous check to help cover the food because they said they couldn’t cook it and they couldn’t get everybody together. So it was rather interesting for that too.”   

Berger acknowledges Hy-Vee for donating the turkeys and Fareway for the hams, along with the Jefferson Does Drove #196 for providing all of the desserts, and the other volunteers for preparing the side dishes as well. The deadline to reserve a meal is this Monday by calling the Elks Lodge at 515-386-2106 and leave your name and the number of people for the dine-in or carry-out options, along with an address for the Jefferson residents who would like a meal delivered. 

He says the doors open at 3pm and the meal will be served at 4pm on Christmas Day for those eating at the Elks Lodge, the carry-outs and deliveries begin at 3:30pm. Additionally, bingo will be played after the meal at the Elks Lodge.