On Christmas Day, while many families in Starkville were gathered around dining tables at home, another kind of meal was being prepared – packed into foil pans, loaded into car trunks and delivered across town.
For the 16th year, “Almost Like Home” brought home-cooked Christmas meals to the essential workers who keep Starkville running when the rest of the city slows down. Firefighters, law enforcement officers, dispatchers, hospital staff and animal care workers all received full holiday dinners – not because they asked, but because the community wanted them to have one.
“This is the least we can do,” said Lynda Moore-White, one of this year’s organizers. “We spend an hour or two doing this, and then we go home. Some of these people are working three- or four-day shifts and celebrating Christmas a week before or a week later.”
Moore-White and co-organizers Angela Baker and Laura Dunn stepped into leadership last year after longtime organizer Lisa McReynolds, who founded the effort and ran it for 14 years, passed the torch. The three had previously volunteered with the project and were already accustomed to working together through Mississippi State University advising programs.
“When they asked me to help lead it, I knew I could,” Moore-White said. “My strength is the logistics – the executive function of it all. Other people recruit and cook, and I show up and make sure this part works.”
That “part” is no small task. Volunteers sign up weeks in advance through a community Facebook group and an online sign-up page, committing to prepare specific dishes, donate supplies or serve as runners – the volunteers who load their cars and deliver meals to designated locations on Christmas Day.
The result is a carefully coordinated effort that feels effortless once it’s underway.
“Everybody’s lives are busy,” Baker said. “So this is food that’s already provided for them. They don’t have to go find it. They can sit down and eat in their break room, or even take it home.”
This year’s deliveries included meals for Starkville Fire Departments, Starkville Police Department, Mississippi State University Police, the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office, 911 Dispatch, Baptist Memorial Hospital-Oktibbeha County, and the Oktibbeha County Humane Society.
For many recipients, the meal is both practical and deeply personal.
At the Oktibbeha County Humane Society, staff members spent Christmas caring for animals who still needed feeding, medication and attention – holiday or not.
“It really means a lot to us,” said Emily Cardin, a kennel technician at the shelter. “Some of us are being pulled away from our families to come up here and take care of the animals. When the public does this for us, it shows they see the work we’re doing and what we’ve sacrificed.”
Sydney Rickert, who also works at the shelter, said the visit itself made the day feel different.
“The animals are here 24/7. They don’t have homes yet,” she said. “So when people come out on the holidays – because they care – it means a lot. And it makes us feel cared for too.”
Those meals arrived thanks to volunteer runners – families and individuals who choose to spend part of Christmas Day making deliveries instead of staying home.
One such group, the Woolfolk family, delivered meals to the Humane Society as a family, bringing their children – and their dog – along for the ride.
From left, the Woolfolk family – Sanda, Josh, and Grace – volunteer runners for the “Almost Like Home” Christmas dinner, stand with the Oktibbeha County Humane Society Christmas team – Emily Cardin and Sydney Rickert. They hold drawings made by local children for the Christmas dinner drive. Ashlynd King/Dispatch Staff
“We’re bigger on giving than gifts,” said Grace Woolfolk. “It’s only an hour or two, but it makes a big impact. We just love giving on Christmas.”
That accessibility is intentional. Organizers emphasize that participation looks different for everyone.
“Some people can give 30 minutes and half a tank of gas,” Moore-White said. “Others can spend a couple of hours cooking. Some people can’t be here at all, but they donate money so we can fill in the gaps. Whatever you’ve got – that’s enough.”
This year, financial donations helped organizers purchase missing items, and a donated refrigerator allowed food to be stored safely in advance as volunteers dropped off dishes ahead of Christmas.
For veteran volunteers like Ellen Goodman, who has participated since 2013, the joy of the event hasn’t faded.
“It’s always fun,” Goodman said. “The people we deliver to are busy, and sometimes they forget we’re coming. You see the look on their faces when the food arrives – it’s just a good feeling.”
Sixteen years in, Almost Like Home remains a reminder of Starkville’s small-town strength – a community where outreach travels far and generosity doesn’t require fanfare.
“It’s not expected,” Baker said. “None of these workers ask for this. We just want to do it.”
And on Christmas Day, that want turns into action – one meal, one delivery and one thank-you at a time.
For those interested in helping next year, participation is simple. Volunteers can prepare or donate food, provide drinks and utensils, serve as runners delivering meals on Christmas, or contribute financially to fill in gaps. Organizers coordinate through a large Facebook group, ‘Almost Like Home’ Christmas Dinner, where sign-ups and updates are posted each year, and they encourage anyone interested to join.
Posted in Community
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Dining and Cooking