Kent Hotel will serve 75 free lunches for Kent Social Services

Kent Social Services’ usual staff of cooks and servers will make way March 20 for the leadership team of the Kent State University Hotel & Conference Center, aka The Kent Hotel.

The hotel team will prep lunch for about 75 people on site and transport the trays to KSS, where the food will be finished and served. On the hotel chef’s menu is chicken marsala and mashed potatoes and/or meatloaf and mashed, a cooked veggie and a cookie dessert, said hotel Sales and Marketing Director Ben Farmer.

Farmer said the hotel benefits from the community, so it is only right to return the favor. Though this is the hotel’s first foray into providing meals at KSS, he said he hopes to do it twice a year or perhaps more often than that.

The hotel also supports KSS’ Hope for the Holidays initiative, last year providing about $1,000 in cash and about $300 in toys, he said.

The luncheon will give KSS guests an opportunity to enjoy a restaurant meal, rather than what the pantry can typically offer, said Program Manager Marquice Seward.