On Easter Sunday, March 31, Twin Pines Diner and community sponsors will once again provide free, take-out Easter holiday dinners for pick-up by those East Haven military veterans, elderly residents or in-need community members who've called in advance to register for the program.

The free Easter dinner program is now in its fourth year. It’s organized annually by East Haven attorney Andrew Amendola, with sponsorship help from Twin Pines owner Jim Triantis and other community sponsors.

Amendola said community sponsor donations will also help deliver over 100 Easter baskets to East Haven kids in need, to be distributed through East Haven Public Schools.

In all, Amendola raised $4,000 in funding for this year's Easter effort. In addition to the support provided by Triantis and Twin Pines, program sponsors are Andrew Amendola, Kenny Horton of Horton Enterprises LLC, Lou Porrello, Albert DeLucia of Porto Funeral Home, Don and Jesse Herzog of East River Energy and Dr. Rajula Tandon.

Amendola also thanks East Haven residents Cheryl Cooper Tardif and Liz Franco-Spano for their Easter basket assistance.

Since November of 2020, Amendola has worked with Triantis and community sponsors to offer many hundreds of free holiday meal programs to local residents in need at holiday times of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Amendola has matched that generosity by gathering the same amount of funding for holiday support for Branford vets, seniors and citizens in need, working with the Sousoulas family at the Parthenon Diner Restaurant in Branford.

Amendola said he organizes the holiday programs "...because there's a need, and because I can. ‘To whom much is given, much is expected.”

Including past Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter efforts, this year's Easter program marks Twin Pines’ twelfth consecutive holiday meal collaboration with Amendola and community supporters.

This year, Twin Pines Diner is offering Easter meal recipients a choice of Virginia ham or roasted turkey. Each meal will come with sides of salad, potato, vegetable and dessert. To help Triantis and the Twin Pines staff prepare hundreds of free Easter meals to take out, East Haven military veterans, senior citizens and residents in need are asked to call Thursday, March 14, through Friday, March 29, to register in advance. Call Twin Pines at (203) 468-6887, ask for the manager or owner, and provide your name, address and telephone number. Staff will confirm a time for pick-up so that fast service can be provided on Easter Sunday (pick-up hours will be between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.) Twin Pines Diner is located at 34 Main Street in East Haven.

“The last time, they didn’t wait more than two minutes to get their order,” said Triantis.

While Easter Sunday is always a very busy day at the diner, but Triantis said he and his staff are happy to help. Well-known to many in town, Triantis has owned and operated Twin Pines, a landmark East Haven diner near the Branford town line, for well over 40 years.

“The people here have been so loyal to me, and so good to me. They’ve helped me a lot, and I like to give back,” Triantis said.