Dining so others may eat

Vernon — A pre-holiday turkey dinner was on the menu at Vernon High Saturday afternoon to benefit Harvest House, an organization that serves hot lunches daily to anyone who needs one. On Saturday, students from Vernon’s DECA marketing club and Harvest House helpers cooked and served 29 turkeys and 200 pounds of potatoes, plus 30 pans of stuffing — for a total of 339 meals. All the food was donated to the organization, which earned $2,071 from the event. Harvest House was started in 1997 as the Hunger Project by a group of students from Vernon High. Relying strictly on donations of food and money, the program serves more than 12,000 meals a year from its kitchen at the First Baptist Church at the corner of Routes 23 and 284 in Sussex. Lunch is served between 11:45 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to anyone who walks in, at no charge. “We average between 40 and 50 lunches a day, more during the summer,” said Giovanna Villano, the group’s treasurer. Diners get take-home packages so no food goes to waste, she said. This year has been especially tough on Harvest House, which has had a history of regular donors. The down economy, however, has limited donations. Even so, the group was able to make and serve Saturday’s turkey dinner. Complete turkey dinners were served at $9 for adults and $6 for seniors and children. Harvest House regulars who came to eat, were not charged for their meal. In all 339 meals were served: 42 takeout and 200 eat-in. To donate Checks made payable to Harvest House can be mailed to PO Box 374, Glenwood, NJ 07418. For information, call 973-3764-8500 or Harvest House, 973-875-6445.