Lions Club Sunday suppers a community favourite for eight years

By Yvette d'Entremont - The Weekly News
SACKVILLE - The smell of baking ham and scalloped potatoes wafted through the brisk evening air as Sackville Lions Club members served their most recent Sunday supper to an eager group of customers.
In the busy kitchen, about a dozen volunteers laugh good naturedly as they work in an assembly-line fashion, piling food onto plates and passing it down to the servers.
The local volunteer organization has offered its Sunday evening meals for the last eight years, every two weeks from September through April. A different menu is offered each time and the fare can vary between roast beef, baked ham, roast turkey and roast pork.
"They say it tastes so good, that's the reason they give for coming back," said Paul Seguin, the main cook working behind the scenes at the Sackville Lions Sunday Suppers. "They've even asked me how much it would cost for me to cook their Christmas dinner for them."
Although they're open to customers of all ages, Seguin said they don't often get many children. But they do have their regulars.
"About three quarters of them are regulars, some who've been coming to the Sunday suppers as long as we've been offering them," he said.
One of those regular customers is Shirley Donovan, who has only missed one Lions Club Sunday Supper in all the years they've been offered.
"We went to the Valley for some reason that one day. I like to come because I don't have to cook, I know the cook, and the food is always good," Donovan said, giving a special thumbs up to the roast beef dinners.
"Two weeks ago the beef was so fork tender you didn't have to cut it. This is one thing I don't mind spending $10 on, and it's for charity."
Her friend Dorothy Henderson agreed, describing the food as nourishing. Her preferred dessert offered at the suppers is the apple crisp, while her favourite Sunday supper is the roast turkey.
Another longtime Sunday supper aficionado is Marilyn Banfield, who can't quite decide if her favourite meal is the Lions roast beef or the turkey.
"I don't have to do the dishes, it's good food, it's reasonably priced and there's lots of it," Banfield said. "You can't go to a restaurant and have it taste this good for that price."
The turkey is, according to all accounts, always a huge hit.
Sackville Lions Club member Kelly Barnes greets customers at the door. He said the roast turkey is by far their most popular offering and always packs in a hungry crowd. They usually expect about 200 people for their turkey suppers. Pork is the second most popular, followed by roast beef.
"We can always handle more. It all goes back to the community," Barnes said.
It takes between 25 and 28 volunteers to pull off a Sunday supper, from the cooks to the vegetable peelers, dessert makers, servers and cleaners. Barnes said volunteers start working at about 7 a.m. and continue straight through until 7 p.m.
For relative newcomer John Thomas, the trip to the Lions Club is worth it. He only discovered the Sunday suppers a few months ago and has been purchasing take-out every two weeks since.
"Everything I've had is delicious, and it's a good price. If you go through a drive-thru you'd spend $8 to $10 just to get a burger meal," he said. "This is really good and homemade and well worth it."
Sunday suppers run from 4:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. every two weeks. Adults pay $10 per plate, children $6. Take-out is also available by calling 865-2039.
The next Sunday supper is set for Feb. 7 and roast turkey is on the menu.
All proceeds raised by the Sunday suppers fund the community work supported by the Lions Club, which includes the Cobequid Centre, the Abilities Foundation and Hope Cottage.
This spring marks the 40th anniversary of the Sackville Lions Club.
ydentremont@hfxnews.ca