Jennifer McLachlan said the free Thanksgiving dinner she offered for years at her Newmarket restaurant was missed in the community last year.
The former owner of the Cachet Restaurant had served up the free meals for several years. She cancelled it last year after selling her business.
She said there was an outpouring of people who asked if she would continue doing the event that she had dubbed Cachet Kindness, which prompted her to find a way to make that happen.
“It really has warmed my heart, year after year after year,” she said. “The outpouring of need, pre and post-event, really had us planning straight away.”
Cachet Kindness returns as the seventh annual free Thanksgiving dinner Oct. 14 at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, beside her former restaurant location. Organizers will be offering a free meal, along with music, with donations for the Newmarket Food Pantry welcomed.
McLachlan said there has been excitement among the volunteers, who have all come back from previous years of the event.
“We just want to make a great event again where everyone comes and enjoys and is thankful for their own blessings,” she said, adding that the church was willing to help and host the event. “We had been great neighbours for many years. So, for myself, whether I have the restaurant or not is immaterial because it’s the movement itself, the kindness. It’s the community collaboration that hasn’t changed whatsoever.”
The event will remain the same except for the seating layout, McLachlan said. There will be table seating for families, a cotton candy machine and some kids activities, as well as deliveries available for people who may not be able to make it in person.
The community collaboration aspect is what has kept the event popular, she said.
“It’s genuinely about giving thanks for all of our blessings even in a time of hardship, and creating that atmosphere is different than just providing a meal,” she said.
McLachlan said she is motivated by her own experiences of hardship, having to rely on the Newmarket Food Pantry 22 years ago as a single mother with two young kids.
“Since then, year after year, I’ve continued to pay it forward and give it back to the same food pantry,” she said. “I’ve continued to keep that personal mission because a moment in time without money doesn’t define who people are as human beings. And providing an event with dignity, not just a meal, I think goes a really long way for people.”
McLachlan said those looking contribute can message her business Delivereh through Instagram.
