Restaurant owner's free meals at holidays are a blessing to many

Ron Cook loves to cook.

And he loves people.

It's as simple as that.

The Stooges Restaurant owner has found ways over the years to raise funds for charity, but it's his free meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas that really seem to stand out.

Because for Cook, the meals aren't just for the poor. They're to serve the lonely, too.

On Thanksgiving, he and 17 volunteers served up seven turkeys, four pork loins and all the trimmings, according to a recent story by Jeff Breer. He and the volunteers made food for 125 people. It's the second year he's made a meal on Thanksgiving, and this will be the third year he will be cooking for Christmas.

"I didn't want to do this as a homeless thing," Cook said. "I know there are poor families out there that need a meal, and I wanted to do that, but I wanted to target the people that are maybe just lonely on the holiday, maybe recently there's been a death in the family, and you've got the spouse at home for the first time, and maybe the rest of the family is off in another location. Maybe it's just husband and wife where the kids are not going to be home for Christmas that year."

He added, "We've had people, highly successful people, and it wasn't because I was doing a free meal, who came down here. They intended to come down and be around other people. They make a donation. They insist that I have a donation bucket out. That's fine. As long as everybody is at peace with that. If they want to donate, they can. But somebody that can't afford it ... I want them to take advantage of the meal."

We love telling stories about people who follow their passions. Cook is passionate about food. But when passion is combined with compassion, well, it's a combination that beats even the best smoked meat and special sauce.

We offer our thanks to Cook and all those who help him serve these meals during the holiday season. There are other organizations who do similar meals. They're all special. Reaching out to those who are less fortunate, especially with food and fellowship at the holidays, exemplifies what the Christmas season is all about.