Serving 500 guests a free Christmas meal can be hard work, but Chuck Chronis and his crew of volunteers said they can hardly imagine doing anything else on the holiday.

Each year Chronis, 75, considers ending his tradition of 30-plus years. But once he starts reminiscing about the people he’s fed on Thanksgiving and Christmas, it seems more likely that you’d have to drag him away for that to happen.

“It’s been a good run,” Chronis said with a sigh Thursday, sitting on a stool and taking a quick break from the steady stream of visitors. “My health isn’t real good, so I don’t know how much longer I’ll be doing this, but as long as I’m healthy I will.”

Then he brought up the story of a woman he met that morning, and it brought him a new burst of energy.

The woman was in a wheelchair, and he handed her $5 that a volunteer had donated.