To complement their weekly Tuesday free lunch, the St. Andrew's United Church is piloting a monthly free supper starting Feb. 3.

The United Church, 128 1 St. E., will be offering a pasta dinner on the first Monday of each month until June 1. It will run from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and include pasta, salad, dessert, and coffee.

Rev. Ray Goodship says the incredible support from the community for their weekly lunch program helped to make it possible.

They also received a grant from the United Church of Canada.

He says the hot dinner is a natural extension of the weekly lunch program. 

"We're wondering if there's a whole segment of our community that could benefit from that experience that can't make it for our Tuesday lunch," says Rev. Goodship.

"I think we'll have a different group with maybe a different demographic, but still address the same need."

After June 1, they will determine if it is proving to be valuable and if it's sustainable.

"I'm very optimistic that it's really a natural extension of what we're doing on Tuesdays."

While they aren't seeking volunteers at this time, Goodship says they are fortunate to have a large pool of people who have been stepping forward for the Tuesday soup lunch. 

"This past Tuesday, all the people working on the lunch were not church-affiliated. So we can leverage our own resources within the church to try a new project."