Volunteers at a soup kitchen in Saint John made spirits bright on Boxing Day by serving up hot meals and hospitality to the less fortunate.

The Romero House soup kitchen is packed with volunteers during the holidays as many helping hands made light work.

Romero House is open year round, but during the holiday season, there’s never a shortage of volunteers.

“During the Christmas season, we often have to turn people down because there's just too many people and no room at the inn,” said Romero House executive director Evelyn McNulty.

The soup kitchen is a place those where those who are homeless or living in poverty can rely on to get a bite to eat and get in out of the cold.

Romero house served up 155 hot meals to those in need on Christmas Day, providing not only food but a sense of family during what can be a difficult holiday season.

“This time of year we end up being people's families and we are people's home, and the people who don't have a place to go continue to come here,” McNulty said.

That's a sentiment Doug Breen can get behind. He's been volunteering at Romero House for about six months and to him, this is a community.

“I figure anybody who has the humility to open that door means they're able to say I need something, so I think that's a wonderful thing for me to be at the other end of that,” he said. “I've needed things and people have been there for me.”  

For some this year, volunteering at Romero House is a family affair.

“I’ve brought my mom this year, her first time and hopefully she will come back again next year with us and my husband is here as well,” said Marlo Cusack.

For McNulty, the demand to volunteer here over the holidays showcases the strong giving spirit of Saint John.

“We're a very poor city, reportedly we're poor and definitely statistically with the numbers going up at Romero House we're in bad shape,” McNulty said. “But we also have huge hearts and we've never had a shortage of food to serve or people to serve it.”

It’s this spirit of giving that makes sure anyone who comes to Romero House will never go away hungry.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Lyall.