KENT, Wash. — A popular, Southern-style restaurant in Kent made sure hundreds of people did not go hungry by hosting its annual meal giveaway this Christmas.
It was a special kind of Christmas delivery for the line of drivers waiting outside Nana’s Southern Kitchen, where family values come first and people’s bellies are full for the holiday, whether or not they can pay for a meal.
“[There are] no questions asked. No judgment zone. If you’re hungry, that’s what we’re here to do,” explained Nana’s Southern Kitchen Operations Manager Kyan Minor, who is the oldest great granddaughter of Myrtle Henderson, AKA Nana. “Christmas is just special to us because as a family of believers, this is what we should do. Never mind the gifts under the tree, all of that. That stuff is good and nice, but if we got someone outside our door eating out of our trash can, what does that say about who we are?”
Minor’s family is from a small town in Virginia.
Minor follows in her Nana’s footsteps by bringing southern hospitality to the Pacific Northwest. For the last six years on Christmas, their kitchen has aimed to give away hundreds of free meals.
Hot dishes- including chicken wings, catfish, pork chops, and many side dishes – are served up with donations from Microsoft and other private donors. Additional help is provided on the day of by four generations of the Minor family, and volunteers from across Western Washington.
They emphasize showing love through food during the most wonderful time of the year.
“The goal is to make the belly happy, so the heart is happy,” Minor noted.
The Minor family’s goal was to give out 730 free meals, but they estimate that number was closer to 1,000. Over the past three years, they’ve cooked and handed out between 1,000 and 1,700 free meals on Christmas.
