ARIZONA CITY — Arizona City Fire Chief Jeff Heaton does not see his station as just a firehouse, but as a community service organization. As proof of that commitment, the Arizona City Fire District will be bringing back spaghetti dinners as a way to break bread with the community and provide an excellent meal to residents.
Starting Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Arizona City station, residents will be offered a spaghetti and meatballs dish, along with salad, dinner rolls and dessert, being offered for $10 a plate.
Heaton began the spaghetti dinner event six years ago as a way to help fund the district’s summer programs and larger operations.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the dinner shifted to a drive-thru format in order to keep residents safe. The drive-thru will still be in effect until further notice and Heaton explained that it is just an extra precaution for everyone involved.
“A lot of folks are still apprehensive of coming together and meeting in large groups, and we usually feed about 100 people,” he said. “So we understand the challenges and the hesitation from residents, so we are still going to give people that option.”
While gathering together for a meal may not be an option for the spaghetti dinner, Heaton said that the district has seen more people come out for the event since the drive-thru format was introduced.
“I think it has just been the support of the community, along with restaurants being shut down at the height of the pandemic, that has driven more people to come out over the past few years,” Heaton said. “When we started, we thought for sure that we would see a decrease, but our residents have always supported our programs for the community and I think they saw it as a new opportunity and a new experience.”
Heaton described the event as “critical” for the community, not necessarily for the food itself, but it gives the community a chance to come together and have conversations with each other.
“I think it allows residents to talk to people who may not have a lot of visitors or may not have family around,” he said. “People can talk to each other and see how they are doing, and it gives us a chance to talk to residents and see how their smoke detectors are doing, it is more than just a dinner.”
Heaton mentioned that the conversations he gets to share with residents are what he appreciates the most from the event, saying that he can’t wait to continue to serve the community.
“We couldn’t do what we do without the support of the community,” he said. “Giving them a valuable dinner, that our seniors can use and break bread is an excellent opportunity,”
The Arizona City Fire District will be serving dinners from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, at the firehouse on Sunland Gin Road.
David Church is a reporter covering Eloy, Arizona City and sports and the Digital Editor for PinalCentral.com. He can be reached at dchurch@pinalcentral.com.
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