A Salina tradition unlike any other is in the works for another year.

The Bill Fekas Family Christmas Dinner is organizing to feed Salina on Christmas day yet again, and needs help with donations to make the 38th consecutive year a reality.

The free meal is planned for Christmas Day at 11 a.m. and lasts until 2 p.m. at the Salina 4-H Building.

However, Fekas is needing donations to make the meal actually happen this year. He is also needing help in purchasing some new equipment including a new potato mixing machine to serve the mashed potatoes. Their current one is broken and would cost $2,500 in repairs that are not even certain to make the machine usable. So Fekas is asking for a new mixer, which costs $3,500.

Donations are also needed for the rest of the Christmas meal–that last year fed over 4,000 people. In 2019, Fekas prepared over 200 turkeys, a half-ton of potatoes and stuffing made from over 800 loaves of bread. With the meal being free to public, Fekas needs donations in order buy enough food.

The 2020 edition of the Fekas Family Chrismas Dinner also comes with an entirely new challenge: COVID-19.

Fekas has a plan to keep dinner attendees safe and healthy, while also giving them a great holiday meal with a strict mask mandate that simply reads: “No Mask, No Food.” Fekas will also be offering free delivery to those who wish not to gather or are unable too. Those who want free delivery can call either 785-826-6531 or 785-826-6532.

Without donations, this meal will not happen, though. In order to donate, send to the Fekas Family Christmas Fund, P.O. Box 2173, Salina, KS, 67402-2173.

Fekas Family Christmas Dinner Through the Years: