Now that our Halloween activities are over it’s time to put away the candy and make plans to eat heartily at the Public Supper hosted by the John Street United Methodist Church, 98 John Street, Camden.  The cost is $9 per adult, $6 for children under age 12.  A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Camden Area Christian Food Pantry.  

Serving starts at 5:30.   Many ”regulars” who come to the supper on the first Saturday of each month show up early to “beat the crowd” to seating.  If several folks want to sit together, one person may purchase tickets for the party and hold seats at the “reserved seating only table.” Those who arrive early also have the best selection of pie, which they pick up on their way to the table. 

Diners will find home-baked beans and a wide variety of hot casseroles, including macaroni and cheese, corn and clam casseroles, American chop suey, and a variety of chicken or beef dishes.  Salads range from fluffy orange or lemon jello to potato, coleslaw, spinach, oriental and garden varieties.  The grand finale of the meal is a slice of homemade pie: banana cream, chocolate, pecan, apple, cherry, blueberry and coconut or bread pudding, freshly prepared and ready for you to serve yourself family style.  Servers bring the food to the tables, and if a diner is looking for a particular dish, a server will scout other tables and deliver it to you.  

Serving starts after a “groaner” joke and a blessing.  Then the lively conversations continue among friends and strangers until they are ready to head out for whatever activity they have planned for the rest of the evening.