Some of those getting free meals at the Christian Shan Hendricks Market in Christiansted Friday pitched in and offered help to those who served them, members of the St. Croix District Committee of the V.I. Democratic Party.
Alicia Barnes, district chair, said it was nice to see the needy offering to help. One man was giving out squirts of hand sanitizer, and others offered to carry aluminum roasters.
Volunteers from the party served donated food for the fifth year to a group of around 50 people, mostly men, but there were a few women too. Some had their meals to go and others sat and ate at the high cement tables and seats in the open air vegetable market. One man brought his skinny little Crucian mutt he called “Red Dog.”
The guys served were the lunch crowd from Catholic Charities soup kitchen. Soup kitchen workers had informed the hungry folks the Democrats were serving lunch at the market. Many of the faces of the homeless and hungry were the faces one frequently sees wandering Christiansted, looking for a place to sit or a handout from tourists.
Barnes said the holiday meal is the groups’ signature activity and a great outreach. She said they served more for their fifth year than in the past. She said it’s an opportunity for one-on-one dialogue with the locals. “We engage them in the political process and hear their concerns.”
Raymond Williams, chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Gregory Francis, commented while dishing out food, “They can be registered voters.”
Traditional Crucian food such as chicken, rice and beans were served; desserts were luscious-looking tarts and pound cakes.