VFW Post 2043: Spaghetti Dinner serves up community support
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Published: October 23, 2009
The annual Mercer-Prieto VFW Post 2043 Spaghetti Dinner held October 15 served up community support, although many of the approximately 380 attendees grabbed plates to eat at home where another plate - such as in home plate - dominated their evening activities.
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula Times
The annual Mercer-Prieto VFW Post 2043 Spaghetti Dinner held October 15 served up community support, although many of the approximately 380 attendees grabbed plates to eat at home where another plate - such as in home plate - dominated their evening activities.
Quartermaster/Adjutant Richard Ruiz said that with the playoff game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies, “Better than 70 percent took their dinners home ... we didn’t have too many eating in” at the St. Paul’s Episcopal/Emmanuel Lutheran Church Hall.
This year, “We bought 300 take home plates and usually we have some leftover, but this time we ran out an hour before we were done. So they enjoyed the game with our spaghetti dinner ... “
Those who ate in enjoyed socializing over the full dinner of old fashioned spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and dessert.
Ruiz said ticket pre-sales greatly benefit the post’s only annual fundraiser.
“I give each VFW member four tickets to sell and about 50 percent of our membership participate,” selling dinner tickets to friends and family.
Ruiz was pleased that although “Food prices went up again” profits from the Spaghetti Dinner were good, even though “we kept the dinners at $6 ... and even if we make a small profit it gives us extra money to donate to the community.”
Only a small portion of the funds raised directly benefit the Post by picking up the cost of required liability insurance and the balance is donated to a plethora of community programs and organizations.
The Boys and Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley, Santa Paula Little League, Santa Paula Recreation Department, the YMCA, Rotary Christmas Basket Program, Optimist Club Christmas Parade, Santa Clara Valley Hospice/Home Support Group and Interface Children, Family Services are supported by the Post.
Donations are also regularly made to the Isbell School Washington, D.C. History Trip, St. Paul Episcopal Church, Santa Paula High School Music Program, Santa Paula Theater Center, Food Share, Isbell School Band and Condor Chorus, Salvation Army Bell Ringers and the Blanchard Community Library FLAIR program.
The Post also supports veterans’ programs.
“We want to thank everybody that participated and supported our VFW program and we’re looking forward to another dinner in 2010,” that is, noted Ruiz, after “we meet to hash out the problems like we do every year to make our next Spaghetti Dinner even better.”
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