Belfast Soup Kitchen offering free Christmas trees

BELFAST, Maine (WABI) - In theory, the holidays are supposed to be a joyful time of year. But the reality for some Mainers is much more stressful.

In an effort to relieve some of the financial burden, the Belfast Soup Kitchen is offering free Christmas trees.

The trees come from Plants Unlimited in Rockport. Owner Hammon Buck has made a couple of deliveries over the last few days totaling more than 100 trees.

Belfast City Councilor Michael Hurley helped coordinate the effort as well.

“We are just so grateful for the generosity of the community. With the prices of everything, I think a lot of people needed to choose between food and fuel over a Christmas tree. In the grand scheme of things that’s an easy decision to make. So I’m just so happy that Plants Unlimited was able to do that so that we could allow people to have some joy around the holidays and have a tree,” said Cherie Merrill, executive director of the Belfast Soup Kitchen.

The trees are available to anyone who wants one, free of charge, whilesupplies last.

Cherie Merrill says they’ll leave the outside lights on so people can pick them up even after hours.

The Belfast Soup Kitchen is located at 31 Belmont Avenue.

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