Candice Beasley has been serving her hometown of Ashland City, TN, for nearly a decade. She began by assembling care baskets and meals for retirement homes. Then, in 2013, when she opened the Sunrise Café, a comfort-food restaurant, Candice had the space and means to do more.
Every Thanksgiving and Christmas since, Candice and a team of volunteers have dished out turkey, dressing, casseroles, pies, and much more to those who have no place to go or no family to visit. "No one should have to spend this time alone and hungry," says the 36-year-old mother of six.
In three years, Candice and her community have provided about 2,000 free holiday dinners from her restaurant. Businesses and individuals supply nearly all of the food. Local law enforcement and others deliver meals to on-duty paramedics, 911 dispatchers and nursing home staffs, plus anyone who can't make it to the café. "This is a labor of love for all of us," says volunteer Mary MacRae.
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The events require months of planning. In August, Candice, Mary and their friend Becky Beigert begin soliciting donations of food, supplies and time through flyers and the café's Facebook page.
Before each feast, Mary comes in to decorate. On Christmas Eve, she transforms the Sunrise Café into a winter wonderland with vintage tablecloths, evergreen centerpieces and strands of lights, while Candice peels 100 pounds of potatoes, boils six huge pots of green beans and cooks dozens of turkeys. Volunteers arrive early the next morning, ready to receive a constant flow of donated dishes and to set up serving lines. Then, at 11 a.m., the feast begins.
A volunteer greets guests at the door, as country and classic Christmas tunes play through speakers. Guests visit and eat with one another, while workers refill drinks and plates and clear tables. "We want the people who are coming in to feel special," Mary says.
Although the meal officially ends at 2 p.m., Candice doesn't turn anyone away. Her generosity comes in part from her grandmothers, avid cooks whom Candice credits with teaching her the importance of selflessness and service. "I also know what it's like to be hungry," says Candice, who as a teenager sometimes struggled to find enough to eat.
According to Mary, many of the volunteers have faced some type of hardship. "We understand their desperation," she says. "This is our way to help others and to try to prevent them from feeling guilty about receiving help."
Candice fed twice as many people last year as she did the year before, and she hopes the numbers double again. "When you look into the eyes of a person who receives a meal," she says, you can appreciate knowing you made a difference in someone's life."
