For most of us, December is a time to celebrate the holidays with family and friends around a table laden with good food. For folks staying at the Warming Center, it is a time of trying to find food and a warm place to spend the day.  St. Francis Apartments offers housing to people who are over 55 and have a history of chronic homelessness, and many of them have no family or friends nearby. The jail holds a holiday party every year, and sample a reminder of home in the cookies we share. 

This shift begins at 11 AM, and will meet in the dining hall of Gloria Dei to wrap up the cookie bake-off. Last year we had lots of youth helpers to make and decorate, but just a couple of folks left to box up hundreds of cooled cookies and manage the clean-up. This shift is great for age groups able to judge when cookies are ready for packaging. I use large bakery bags and stacking cardboard trays to make an assortment of cookies in each ready for the freezer. Many hands make light work!