After 25 years no more holiday meals for local elderly and needy

Every year for the past 25 years Maricopa resident Faith Quintana has hosted a meal for the needy in Maricopa. This year there will be no such event.

The constant good Samaritan has had to cancel her annual Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners because of a lack of donations.

“I couldn’t get one store to donate one turkey,” she said.

The long time resident says that she has seen a change in the community during the past several years, and it is not one for the good. “People don’t seem to care as much as they used to,” she said.

Quintana said that, as she was going around town asking for donations for her dinners, people would either come out and tell her ‘no’ or tell her they already had given to the food bank.

“It is great to give to the food bank, but there are many elderly people out there who can’t prepare their own meals,” Quintana said.

In addition to hosting a holiday meal, in the past Quintana had gone door to door to find out how many meals these people needed and delivered them their food.

That service will also be gone this year.

“A lot of these people are really hurting, and it is sad I have to cancel this service,” she said.

Submitted photo