Clovis, Portales hosting Christmas meals

To share the holiday spirit and make sure everyone can have a good meal on Christmas Day, Lighthouse Mission in Clovis and El Rancho Restaurant in Portales are hosting free community meals today.

El Rancho will be serving free enchiladas, beans and rice from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for anyone willing to come out. Joey Garcia organizes the meal every year and said they often see around 500 people.

The annual meal started when Garcia and his wife were looking for a way to give back during the holiday season and decided to pick something they already knew how to do.

“I put it on my heart to serve people and I asked how and this is what I came up with,” Garcia said. “I've served people that way ever since, about 10-15 years ago, me and my wife. It's gotten bigger every year.”

Lighthouse Mission will hold a citywide banquet for Clovis starting at 11 a.m. and going to 1 p.m. with ham as the main course with all of the holiday fixings on the side.

Unlike Lighthouse's Thanksgiving dinner, there won't be any home deliveries, but Lighthouse Director Richard Gomez said there's plenty of food and good company for anyone willing to stop by the mission.

“We know there are plenty of people who could cook their own meals at home, but might just want a chance to be around someone for the holidays,” Gomez said. “We encourage everyone to come and enjoy Christmas with somebody. We expect maybe 300 people to come out.”