The Falmouth Community Supper once hosted over 700 community members. Contributed / Katharina Roderick
The Falmouth community will celebrate the 15th anniversary of its annual Community Supper on Thursday, three years since the last gathering in 2019, and the reaction to the event’s revival has been exuberant.
The first Community Supper was in 2009, when Falmouth Congregational Church asked other Falmouth churches to co-host a community meal to support freewill giving to the Falmouth food pantry.
“When it was announced that the church was going to bring back the full turkey harvest suppers of yore, the congregation burst into applause,” founder Peggy McGehee told The Forecaster. “Falmouth’s other churches and faith communities and town administration have been equally enthusiastic.”
The mission is simple: bring together Falmouth neighbors of all faiths, economic circumstances, political views and ages to sit together at communal tables and talk over a hot meal.
Tables and chairs at Falmouth Congregational Church will once again be filled for the community supper’s return. Contributed / Katharina Roderick
The supper is entirely run by volunteers, such as Girl Scout troops, Falmouth High School students, local business volunteers and town officers and employees. Local businesses donate ice cream, coffee, rolls and potatoes and the town manager even carves the turkeys.
In 2019, the event had 250 volunteers and 700 guests. During the pandemic, the churches delivered 200 turkey dinners to Falmouth residents and invited them to watch a virtual livestream.
It’s the willingness to give back to the community that makes the event so special, McGehee said.
“The freewill for giving to the food pantry is inspiring,” she said. “It covers much of the pantry’s annual budgets.”
Falmouth Rotary Club President Ann Payson told The Forecaster she “looks forward” to passing gravy to her neighbors at this year’s supper.
“I know of no other occasion where our young, old, rich, poor, town officials, business leaders, teachers, the helping and the helped sit together in common community,” Payson said.
The 15th annual Community Supper will be held on Thursday, Oct. 26, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Falmouth Congregational Church parish hall.
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