The City of Swift Current is once again spreading holiday cheer through its annual Community Christmas Dinner. 

Registration for the free meal opened on Wednesday, but spots were nearly all claimed in just under 30 hours. 

To Krista Caswell, community recreation coordinator for the City, the high demand for meals is what the initiative is all about at its core. 

“We are so excited to bring it back,” she said. “The City has been the main organizer since 2020; prior to that, [it was] the Salvation Army, but they are busy over there with all of the fantastic things they do during the Christmas season, so they had to step away. The City knew there was still the need out there, and we always partnered with the Salvation Army during that time, so we wanted to make sure it continued.” 

This year’s dinner features a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, salad, and dessert buns. 

SwiftLink and the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre have stepped up again to help organize and ensure the goods get to where they need to on Christmas Eve. 

Country Hills Catering and friends will be cooking, the Robertson Family Foundation Inc. is supplying all the turkeys, Pioneer Co-op's sponsorship allows the City to purchase other ingredients and sides, and Canadian Tire is providing reusable bags for each meal to be packed in. 

Everyone gathers at the Center to organize and send the packaged dinners off with volunteer delivery drivers on the big night. 

“We have lots of community support,” Caswell said. “Which makes it perfect, especially because it is called the Community Christmas Dinner.” 

Volunteers are always needed to help get deliveries out on the 24 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., with a variety of shift options in that timeframe. Anyone interested in helping can contact Caswell at (306) 778-2787.