This past weekend, 11 Manayunk restaurants joined up to cook and deliver more than 800 meals to those in need during this holiday season, writes Sunny Morgan for KYW Newsradio.

This was done as part of Manayunk Meals and More, an annual tradition started by Bruce Cooper of Jake’s & Cooper’s Wine Bar and Wine Shop in 1996. With help from the Manayunk Development Corporation and North Light Community Center, they served a full turkey dinner to community members in need that year.

Today, volunteers distribute meals to families throughout the area. The many businesses that took part this year contributed by making chicken dinners and baked good, while Jake’s & Cooper’s Wine Bar made salads for 300 people.

“It makes me happy, like working here because I can see my community and I see the people that are going into my community,” Bruce Joseph Cooper II, the general manager at Jake’s & Cooper’s Wine Bar, said.

As food was being delivered, volunteers inside the Community Center on Green Lane wrapped gifts for children under 18, as well as those with intellectual disabilities.

“I think the best thing to do is reach out to your fellow person,” said Cooper, who noted the event serves as a reminder to all during the holidays.

Read more about Manayunk Meals and More at KYW Newsradio.

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