Video Transcript
She even had a medical issue today where she had to go in for a procedure. She said I’m still going to the spaghetti dinner. After voting, community members gather at the Our Lady of Pompei Church for fellowship and.. Meatballs? Yes. That’s right. The Our Lady of Pompei Spaghetti Supper has become a staple in the Syracuse community. The event is intended to fundraise for charities around the Syracuse area. This has always been a tradition for us. We’re cousins and we always come together. After 77 years of serving voters after leaving the polls, it’s become a place where voters can put their differences aside for a fraction of the price of takeout. Delicious every year. Homemade meatballs. Homemade sauce. What can you not like about it? You know?
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Every year on Election Day Our Lady of Pompei Church hosts an annual spaghetti dinner to encourage community members to enjoy good food during voting.
This is the church’s 77th year hosting the supper. They serve up spaghetti with a homemade sauce, meatballs, salad, and a side of freshly baked bread.
Denise Wallace and Ann Lovecchio have made the spaghetti supper a tradition for themselves. Though Wallace voted during early voting and Lovecchio voted Nov. 3, they still came together to support a good cause and fellowship.
“Family tradition,” said Wallace. “I’ve been voting since I turned 18. Haven’t missed.”
But hidden under the secret spaghetti sauce is another community-focused initiative—a fundraiser for charities local to the Syracuse area.
The money raised goes to families in need in the community. The church donates to Mary’s Closet, a local charity, providing diapers, clothes, and bottles for new families.
The church’s partnership with the CNY Diaper Bank makes the diaper donations possible, but a food bank has also been started as a result of fundraising initiatives from past spaghetti suppers.
With the help of church and school volunteers, at least 2,500 meals are served every year according to Father Brendan Foley. But what would spaghetti be without meatballs?
Volunteers come in days before the spaghetti supper to roll out 6,000 meatballs, all ready to be cooked on the big day.
Wallace and Lovecchio said that’s what keeps them coming back, “And the meals are great because everything’s homemade. Homemade meatballs and homemade sauce. What can you not like about it?”
Speaking about Lovecchio, Wallace said, “She even had a medical issue today where she had to go for a procedure, and she said, ‘I’m still going to the spaghetti dinner.’”
For some, the tradition isn’t just a meal. It’s something worth making time for no matter what.