Mystic — Union Baptist Church's 28th annual Christmas dinner provided food and camaraderie to those left alone, hungry or bored on the holiday.

Trad Dart and Dawn Scanlon, members of the congregation, headed a team of about 20 volunteers from the church and the community Wednesday to pull off a dinner for between 40 and 50 people. Scanlon said diners were given a turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, vegetables, cranberries — "All the good stuff," Scanlon said.

Shampayne Parker and Marianah Morales, who attended the dinner for their first time, were impressed with the fare and the desserts. "It was honestly so good," Parker said. The two women came from the Main Street House in Noank, a young adult center.

Scanlon said she had more volunteers this year than she knew what to do with, which isn't a bad problem. She and Dart took over from Gale Oko, who stepped down four or five years ago. Dart used to be the executive chef at Mystic Aquarium, and he has worked other gigs in the restaurant industry.

Beyond the Christmas dinner, Scanlon said the church is sending out 30 pre-made meals this year during the holidays to those in need.

Spouses Jerad Ripley and Keith Bishop also were impressed with the food. They'd been to the dinner once before, and said they were driving around and remembered, "'Oh, we ate there before,'" according to Bishop.

They were so in love with the food that they returned on Christmas Day.

Scanlon reflected on why she leaves home for this event yearly. "It's something I feel like I can do," she said. "I enjoy feeding people."

The people who come to eat at Union Baptist on Christmas are "sometimes lonely, or older retired people, and they're by themselves," she said. "They enjoy being with other people out in the community."

s.spinella@theday.com