NATCHEZ — Feeding approximately 300 people seven days a week comes out to nearly 110,000 meals a year.

That’s a pile of food, boxes of Styrofoam plates and countless man hours.

“We are so grateful for the army of volunteers who keep the Stewpot going 365 days a year and the huge support we get from churches, groups and the community,” Stewpot Director Amanda Jeansonne said.

The Stewpot is wholly dependent on donations from the community. The holidays are a critical time for the Stewpot, Jeansonne said, because holiday donations help the Stewpot get through the rest of the year.

“This money sustains us through the year,” she said. “We can’t do without it.”

The Stewpot has been operating in Natchez since 1985 and delivers approximately 200 meals a day to primarily elderly, disabled and ill residents. The Stewpot also serves approximately 100 meals every day to those who visit the organization’s East Franklin location.

The Stewpot has only two paid employees and is dependent on volunteers to keep its doors open.

The Stewpot’s biggest monthly expense, Jeansonne said, is Styrofoam plates. Maintenance of an aging building is also becoming more of an issue than it has been in the past, Jeansonne said.

Members of the Stewpot board hope donations allow the organization to make a big push toward maintenance projects in 2016, Jeansonne said, that include plumbing and roofing work, installing a new vent over the stove, and purchasing a new convection oven, stainless steel tables and other items.

Jeansonne took over as director in May when longtime director Louis Gunning died. She has been delivering meals for six or seven years for the Stewpot.

“The people who get these meals, they are so grateful for the food, for the visit, for the conversation,” Jeansonne said. “For some of these people, the only contact they have all day is the person that brings them their meal.”

Stewpot volunteers often go above and beyond for those they serve, Jeansonne said.

“They’ll change a light bulb or drop a letter in the mail or whatever they may need,” Jeansonne said. “It goes beyond just serving food.”

Anyone wishing to donate money to the Stewpot can mail checks to P.O. Box 298, Natchez, MS 39121.

Food donations can be taken to the Stewpot, located at 69 E. Franklin St., from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday.