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Rockbridge Connect and Nourish (CAN) served its 3,000th free dinner at its recent community dinner at the Buena Vista firehouse on July 2.
At that meal, 79 community members enjoyed a dinner catered and donated by Washington and Lee Dining Services. The menu consisted of a house salad, tangy vegetarian baked beans, macaroni and cheese, pulled smoked pork barbecue sandwiches or black bean burger, citrus superfoods slaw, chive cornbread muffins with whipped honey butter, and banana pudding.
Rockbridge CAN began serving free community dinners on March 15, 2023, and currently hosts dinners on the first three Wednesdays of each month. Dinner is served sit-down style from 6 to 7 p.m. by volunteers.
Rockbridge CAN accepts but does not expect donations and encourages those from all socioeconomic backgrounds to attend.
Rockbridge Area Transportation System (RATS) provides free rides to and from dinners to those who request a ride. At the Rockbridge CAN dinner on June 19 in Natural Bridge, RATS provided its 400th free roundtrip ride since the start of Rockbridge CAN operations.
The goals of Rockbridge CAN are to increase social interactions among community members, access to healthy meals, and access to resources. Rockbridge CAN is a collaboration between RATS and Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital. Funding comes from grants and donations.
To learn more about attending, volunteering, or donating, search Rockbridge CAN on Facebook or visit rockbridgetransportation.org/ RockbridgeCAN.
Rockbridge CAN invites area residents to upcoming community dinners at the Buena Vista firehouse, Goshen firehouse, Natural Bridge firehouse, Palmer Community Center, Rockbridge Baths firehouse, and Thompson Community Center in Glasgow.
Check the schedule online or in this edition of The News-Gazette.
