| Katie Enman wasn't
sure what she would do about Christmas dinner this year. Money is tight,
since the concrete-pouring business is soft this time of year, meaning
her husband can only pull in $166 a week after taxes.
On that income, the couple faces $1,000 in rent and $400
in health insurance. An elaborate Christmas meal didn't seem possible
and Enman was beginning to wonder what they and their two children would
eat Tuesday night.
The Salt Lake City resident found her answer at Rowland-Hall-St.
Marks school on Saturday, where the Crossroads Urban Center was giving
out food for the holidays.
"After a while I'm sure we'll get back on track," she
said, holding on to a frozen turkey. "Now, I'm in need."
Two thousand other Utahns who needed help got it at the
annual Christmas dinner giveaway.
The Crossroads Urban Center handed out 2,000 turkeys,
110 hams and 75 chickens. They also gave paper sacks filled with boxes
of stuffing mix, canned peas, green beans and cranberries, potatoes, onions,
butter and pumpkin pie.
To Utahns living in rooms without kitchens, the center
gave canned hams, hot cocoa mix, apples, soda crackers
and chips.
"This enables them to have a holiday experience that
so many Americans have --- making a meal together and sharing a meal at
home," said Liz Paige, chairwoman of the Crossroads board and a seventh-grade
teacher at Rowland Hall.
Elderly couples, single men, women and children and families
lined up in the school's cafeteria to get the goods.
Many were reluctant to talk about the circumstances leading
them to need help with Christmas.
Paige said most of them work but at jobs that don't pay
enough to cover the bills. She cited statistics about Utah's wages and
housing costs compared to the national average.
"Wages here are low and housing is expensive. They have
a choice: be evicted or turn off their utilities to buy food," she aid
Alfreda Cohea said the food was much appreciated by her
family of seven.
"We're just having a hard time right now getting through
the holidays," she said. "It came in handy. We wouldn't have had
enough." |