KENT, Wash. — Nana's Southern Kitchen in Kent giving out Christmas meals is an annual story.
The family-owned and operated restaurant, with Todd Minor at the helm, strives to feed all those in their community in need.
"There's a scripture that says it's better to give than to receive and that's how we feel every Christmas when we do this," Minor said.
In its fourth year, Minor, his staff, and volunteers noticed something different about this year.
"We started at 11 o'clock and right away, we gave out about 500 meals within the first 30 minutes or so," Minor said. "That's impressive but it also tugs on your heart because that shows there are so many people in need."
"Last year, they were able to actually take some of the meals and hand them out on the street to different folks," Bailey Stober, a volunteer, said. "There's not gonna be anything left this year."
Minor said the people who came through to get food were there for all sorts of reasons. He shared one of the stories he heard.
"A lady came in today. She has four kids, just lost her job and didn't know what Christmas was going to be like," Minor said.
No matter the reason why someone showed up for a meal, Minor said he and his family are happy to help.
As first reported by Kent Reporter, generous donations allowed the restaurant to give out hundreds more meals than anticipated. To meet the growing need, Minor has set an ambitious goal for next year.
"I feel like we want to get even more bolder, probably partner with additional restaurants in the Puget Sound," Minor said. "Serve maybe 10,000 people. Don't hold to me that. It's going take a lot of hard work, grit, and a bunch of folks raising their hand to help but I wanna scale this beyond Kent and Nana's and influence other restaurants around the Puget Sound to do the same thing."