2,000 free chicken dinners went fast in Albion

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Volunteers with the Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries get chicken barbecue dinners ready in take-out containers on Saturday at the Masonic Lodge on Platt Street.

The church prepared 2,000 of the dinners. People started lining up at 11 a.m., about an hour before the meals were advertised to be available. By 3:30, all the dinners had been served, with volunteers delivering many to shut-ins in the community.

This the third straight year the Royal Body Shop served the 2,000 dinners for free, after a debut in 2021 with 1,000 chicken barbecues.

Pastor Al Wilson of the Royal Body Shop cooks potatoes and string beans with smoked turkey in the kitchen at the Masonic Lodge. He said a dedicated group of at least 20 worked on the big dinner.

“It’s a blessing when you have all this help,” Wilson said. “We just want to share the love of Jesus.”

Nora Bell-Owens keeps up a brisk pace in the kitchen.

Pam Parker and Anthony Artis were among the volunteers getting the food ready.

The Royal Body Shop also does an Easter egg hunt in Albion. There were 12,000 Easter eggs filled with candy during the March 30 egg hunt on the courthouse lawn.

Provided photo: Students from the Iroquois Job Corps helped cook the chickens and get the meals ready.